Animal Instincts
by BabyBard
Summary: While on a mission for her grandfather, Bo makes a discovery that has the potential to change everything. Now it's a race against time to discover the mysterious woman's secrets before it's too late, and maybe even fall in love along the way. AUish doccubus.
1. A Dangerous Discovery

**No, I have not abandoned Birth by Fire, yes I am still working on it. This was actually the first attempt at fanfiction I ever made, though I never published it because...well I don't really know, but I'm still not convinced it's good/interesting enough for anyone to want to read. HOWEVER, I also thought that about Birth by Fire at first, so I decided that I would put it up and let you guys be the judges of whether you like it or not! Read and review, and (hopefully) enjoy.**

 **Chapter One – A Dangerous Discovery**

It's amazing really, how unseen, how utterly _overlooked_ such important places can be.

For centuries the meeting place had stood, its existence playing an anonymous but guiding role in so many great events. Wars, plagues, and all manner of disasters had passed by it's walls, some being coincidental, and others not so. It was frighting really, how one small, malevolent dwelling was able to exist.

And to exist in secret.

Most of the people that speed down the lonely Canadian highway would miss the small side road nestled between the dense trees. The few that happened to be paying close enough attention to the passing wilderness to catch a glimpse of the unmarked turn-off would think nothing of it, for why would they? Two hours from the nearest town on a normally quiet route, most drivers never even noticed the overgrown dirt track leading away into the ancient forest, more focused on getting to the end of their own journeys than on paying attention to seemingly endless sea of browns and greens that made up the blurring scenery. They had no way of knowing that if they followed the pot-holed side road through the dark canopy of trees for a few miles, they would happen upon a small, single story moss-covered house, a shack really, standing steadfast against the ever-changing elements in a small clearing well out of sight or sound of the road, hidden for years from most of civilization.

Hidden, that was, until now.

Parked haphazardly in front of the dilapidated building, under the dreary overcast sky, was a remodeled muscle car, its bright yellow paint, normally lovingly washed and polished by it's owner, now dulled by the liberal coating of dust that had been collected from its long trip along the highway and a somewhat haphazard journey down the bumpy side road, stray twigs and straggled weeds caught in it's wheels and bumper.

Wind whistled eerily through the nooks and cracks of the cabin, rattling the loose tiles on the roof and blowing tiny flecks of blistered grey paint from the peeling walls. A few brave (or perhaps oblivious) rat's scurried under the skirting and around the sunken stone foundations, ferreting away bits of the thick oily sheep's wool that had once packed the wooden walls tightly as insulation and pieces of long-tattered curtains to line their winter nests. Apart from the rustle of the ever-present breeze the surrounding woodland was unnaturally quiet. No birds sounded their eager chorus in the canopy of the gnarled trees and no small creatures scuttled through the tangled undergrowth in search of food or shelter. It had been this way for generations here. The unseen stain that blackened the house had seeped into the land like a disease, slowly tainting the very soil around it and warding off all but the most obstinate of rodents from it's vicinity.

No strangers ever approached the shadowed building. Any who came near, be they hunters, lost tourists, or curious teenagers out for any trouble they could find, would be quickly beset by a sense of unease, as though the land itself was warning them away. The closer they came, the more the feeling would grow, until without any conscious will they would shy away from it, detouring down the nearby valley or turning back on the unkempt road – convincing themselves that it lead to nowhere they could possibly want to be.

Today's visitors, however, had not been deterred. Already knowing what they were looking for, and stubborn enough to ignore the prickling at their spines, they had crashed through the oppressive silence and into a space in which they were most decidedly not welcome. The rickety front door to the shack was open once more, creaking as it swung slowly in the cool autumn wind, while the sound of an argument drifted from inside.

"Well that was a bust."

"Kenzi..."

"Come on Bo! Admit it! There's nothing here!" The statement was punctuated by the petite young woman's exasperated kicking of a moldy couch, which sent a thick cloud of dust exploding into the already stale air. "We just drove for over five hours to the sweaty ass-crack of nowhere, and this shack is most certainly empty. No evil druids, no magic necklace."

Kenzi was not at all amused. The young Russian had been dragged out of bed at dawn - freaking DAWN for crying out loud – to accompany her best friend on an obscure but supposedly critically important mission for her grandfather, who had just so happened to finally find a solid lead on something he had been working on for a century (because these things only ever seemed to happen with Bo around), and which apparently had to be dealt with _immediately_. It had taken most of the day to travel to the middle of nowhere and, after no small amount of wrong turns later, they had finally arrived at the distant location he had mapped for them. Her and the succubus had charged in, weapons drawn, ready for a hell of a fight, only to find the place was genuinely as deserted as it outwardly appeared. The cult of druids they were supposed to be rounding up and interrogating were gone without leaving any possible convenient clues to their whereabouts, and after almost tearing the place apart searching, it seemed that they had taken what they had been tasked with retrieving along with them.

Though it was rather hard to be sure when they didn't really have a good idea of what shape, size or design that actually was. Or _any_ idea, for that matter – for something he was so worried about, Trick had been remarkably unhelpful.

The second woman, a tall muscular brunette sighed at her companion, closing the wobbly cupboard she had been re-checking hopefully and bending down to rummage once again under the rusty sink. "Jewel Kenzi. We're looking for some kind of precious stone. Trick said all of the texts were incredibly vague in it's physical description, they mostly just contained references to it's power and general cosmic importance or whatever. It could be pretty much anything." She rubbed her temples when her search revealed nothing of possible interest, frustration mounting. "Are you sure there aren't any..."

"No jeweled rings, necklaces, arm-bands, hairpieces, cuff-links, staffs, crowns, or freaking tiaras. No loose stones either. Trust the resident thief when she says there is nothing shiny here at all. Unless you count that freaking mutant sized beetle that scampered over my hand when you told me to check out the bathroom – which by the way, I am going to have to shower in bleach for at least a week to feel clean again after." Kenzi put her hands on her slender hips and tapped her foot impatiently against the splintering floorboards. "We've been through the whole place twice, and unless this Jewel of The Forest is secretly a dented tin teapot or a bunch of smelly old herbs, then I'm afraid you're gonna have to accept the fact that it just ain't here."

Bo frowned. Surely they hadn't traveled all this way for nothing at all. "Tricks source was _sure_ the druids were here with it. He said he'd been tracking them for years, that they had finally returned back here with their newly found prize to do the big-evil-whatever...and the goblin confirmed it!"

"Um, yeah...key-word in that sentence babe – _were_. They've obviously cleared out, and from the looks of it they were in a hurry. All the important crap's gone, but the place hasn't fallen apart yet either. Well..." She wrinkled her nose as she slammed an empty wooden chest shut, "not everything anyway...oh!"

The movement had caused a small hidden drawer to pop open in the side of the chest, and she reached into it eagerly to pull out...a key. The metal was dark and heavy, almost seeming to absorb the thin light that trickled through the cracks in the filthy windows. It was noticeably cold to the touch and with a strange symbol carved near the top, but there were no precious metals or stones set into it and she rolled her eyes, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

"Well so much for that." She went to toss it back into the old chest, then hesitated, tapping it idly against her skeleton-print tights. "Looks important though, think we should hold onto it to show Trickster? It is the only thing left in this place that looks like it might actually be worth keeping." The young Russian turned back to Bo and shrugged her shoulders. "It would be good to come back with _something_ to show for our efforts, even if it turns out to be yet another dead-end."

The succubus sighed again, wiping her dirty hands down on her jeans as she finally accepted defeat. "Might as well I guess. Lets get the hell out of here. It's a long drive back, after all." She kicked the door frame in irritation, making it rattle dangerously on its rusted hinges and send another charming cloud of mould spores onto her leather jacket. It didn't make her feel better. "Remind me to smack the crap out of that bogus-tip-giving-goblin if we ever see him again."

"Only if I get to take a swing at him too. I can't believe I wasted so much precious beauty sleep time on this demented goose-chase."

The pair made their way back outside into the fresh air, the decaying old wooden porch creaking ominously under the combined weight of their boots as they jumped back down onto reliably solid ground. They were almost back at the car when Bo stopped abruptly, nearly causing Kenzi to walk straight into the back of her.

"Woah, how about a little warning before you-" She noticed the look on her friends face. "What is it?"

Bo pointed to ahead of them to the left, at a slightly thinner looking patch of mossy trees, barely discernible in the forests gloom. "Look, over there, it's a path."

The Russian blinked, pale blue eyes squinting until she was finally able to make out the vague outline of a track amongst the undergrowth. A chill went down her spine and she took an involuntary step back.

The succubus however didn't seem to be phased by the aura radiating from the eerie thicket. "How did we miss that? I wonder what's down there?" She spun around on the gravel and started marching towards it, only to be halted by a grab to her wrist.

"You have got to be kidding Bobo! You want to walk down a creepy ass path that leads into the creepy ass woods behind an old abandoned house in the middle of nowhere? Have you never seen a single horror movie in your life?!" She waved her hands above her head incredulously. "Next thing you're going to suggest we stop of in an abandoned amusement park for kicks, or sleep in an old asylum on top of a haunted hill."

Bo rolled her eyes a little at her best friends melodrama. "Relax, I'm just going to check it out Kenzi, it'll be fine. You can stay here if you want. Guard the car or something."

"Split up? SPLIT UP? Oh hell no! Do I look like a big-boobed blonde teenager to you?" The smaller woman groaned, knowing that she had pretty much no chance of talking her tenacious friend out of something once she had her mind set on it. "Fine, I'll come with you. But if I end up getting used in a ritual sacrifice, brutally murdered, or eaten, I will come back from the dead and _kick your_ _shapely_ _ **ass**_ succubitch! I'm too damn fine for an early, tragic death." Sighing heavily, Kenzi let go of Bo and reluctantly followed her down the darkened track into the eerily rustling woods.

Twenty minutes later, she was deeply regretting it.

"Ouch... _dammit_...would you slow down Bo?"

Kenzi climbed back to her feet for what felt like the hundredth time and picked another broken stick out of her hair. "Ugh, if I knew there was gonna be hiking I would've dressed accordingly. These boots are definitely not made for walking." She pouted as she brushed the fresh coating of mud and wet leaves off her favorite new pair of pants. "You had better be planning on buying me a hella big stack of pancakes on the way ho-" She let out a muffled squeak as Bo suddenly slapped her hand tightly over her mouth, silencing her.

Indicating for her to stay quiet, Bo removed her hand and crept cautiously around a sharp bend in the track coming to a halt as she reached a point where the path abruptly narrowed, passing between two massive boulders that an average sized person would be only just be able to walk through without touching the sides. Now that she was listening, Kenzi finally heard what had alerted her friend. Up ahead she could hear the sound of dull scraping and...growling? Oh crap, that was definitely growling. She shuffled nervously behind Bo, who had drawn the long combat knife strapped to her thigh, and pulled a smaller but equally sharp one from it's hiding place in her leather boot, handing it to Kenzi with a murmured, "just try really hard not to stab me in the ass with it please."

Biting back a sarcastic response, the girl followed her forward, slowly peering around the large weather-worn boulder that was blocking most of their view. The trail had lead them to a small open space amongst the towering trees, the muddy ground that stretched in an almost perfect circle flat and bare. In the middle of the clearing a tall, smooth stone pillar nearly triple the width of a man's arm-span reached straight up towards the dreary sky.

The duo, however, barely even noticed this as their gazes were fixed frozen on something else entirely.

Pressed tightly against the pillar, on all fours, was a massive...dog? Wolf? It was hard to tell, but the animal was big, bigger than any dog or wolf either of them had ever seen. It's head came up to about the same height as Bo's chest, and it was strongly set, long sturdy legs leading to heavy paws. It's muscular frame was covered in a thick fur, darker than coal underneath but fading to pure white at the tips. Despite the fact the it was matted with leaves and twigs, it looked soft, reminding Bo of the friendly (if somewhat destructive) pet Husky that one of her neighbors in Grimley had owned when she was a little girl. The resemblance was lost at the creatures head though. It's ruff was rusty, caked in various degrees of fresh and dried blood, and it's muzzle was pulled back in a snarl revealing a row of long, and particularly deadly looking teeth.

Looking past that however, the succubus was captivated by the animals eyes. The dark green orbs were focused on the two of them with an unnerving clarity, and even as her and Kenzi both stared, they turned to her, gazing into her as if the creature could see her very soul. She couldn't help the slight chill that went down her back.

Oddly though, she found that looking into its eyes, she didn't feel afraid...at least until Kenzi swore loudly next to her, and the animal tore away from her gaze to shatter the morning silence with a blood chilling roar that seemed to shake the very leaves on the trees, the spell well and truly broken.

"Jesus _fuck_ Bo,I _**SO**_ did not sign up for this."


	2. If You Go Down to The Woods Today

**Chapter Two – If You Go Down To The Woods Today**

The young Russian backed away slowly, one of her hands held in front of her in a surrendering manner, the other digging deep red indentations into the muscle of Bo's tensed arm as she tried in vain to tug the succubus back behind the boulder with her. The...wolf?...yeah, she was pretty sure it was a wolf, let out another loud howl, ears almost the size of Kenzi's hands flattening back against its head and corded muscles tensing visibly beneath it's coat as it pressed forward, almost as though it was trying to get to them but couldn't.

Which, Bo realized suddenly, was exactly what was happening.

Now that the creature had moved slightly she could see the thick chain wrapped tightly around the pillar, two extensions shorter than the length of a ball-point pen leading to another chain wrapped around it's neck, effectively pinning the animal fast against the ancient stone. She winced as she looked at the wolf's neck again. The blood clotting it's fur was obviously it's own, collateral damage from the chain. It must have been struggling against it in vain for quite some time to inflict that amount of harm. Her eyes flicked back up, and she found the animal gazing back at her, before it snarled and strained hard against the metal holding it captive, paws scrabbling fruitlessly against bare dirt as it fought to pull free. Without even realising what she was doing, Bo found herself taking a step forward, much to the horror of her best friend.

"Bobo! What the fuck are you doing?"

"He's hurt Kenzi! Look, there's blood all over his neck from the chain. We need to get it off."

The girl blinked at her incredulously. "Take it off? Take it OFF?! Are you crazy woman? Who cares if it's hurt, LOOK at that thing!"

The succubus gave her a frown. "We can't just leave him here like this, it's cruel. Besides, he's stuck! He'll probably die if we we don't free him."

Kenzi's eyes boggled, having difficulty telling Bo was joking, or if she had – in fact – completely lost her shit. "And _we'll_ probably die if we do! You don't go around releasing crazy feral monsters in the woods...speaking of which...why the hell is there a crazy feral monster chained to a hunk of rock in the middle of nowhere?! Last I checked, this wasn't Middle Earth or some shit!"

She had a point there, Bo realized. This wasn't exactly an accidental entanglement – the animal definitely hadn't gotten here by itself. The only logical solution seemed to be that, for whatever purpose, it had been brought and left here by the missing druids who had been living in the house. Perhaps they hadn't had time to fetch and secure it before they fled?

"I don't know Kenz, maybe it was some kind of pet?"

"A pet? Really? Well, they are supposed to be evil I guess. Doesn't look very _tame_ for a pet though, does it?" She was fairly certain that this was the kind of 'pet' that would, in fact, bite the hand that fed it...then the arm, and the leg, and the head. She'd take a boring old tank of tropical fish any day, thank you very much. If only Bo felt the same.

"I think anything would be pissed off at being tied up that tightly and left behind for god-knows-how-long." The succubus was unexpectedly sympathetic towards the creature, left here like this. No animal was meant to be chained up, especially not a wild one, and especially not so brutally.

Kenzi, on the other hand, simply couldn't believe that her friend was seriously considering getting closer to the creature, let alone setting the damn thing loose. As far as she was concerned, those teeth alone should be reason enough to flee back to the car as fast as their legs could carry them. This was most _definitely_ not what she had signed up for on this mission. Apparently she was the only one with such common sense however, as Bo had already shrugged off the grip she had on her arm and stepped into the clearing.

As soon as she moved forward, the wolf roared, struggling harder against it's bonds, and bringing the succubus screeching to a halt. Intellectually, of course, she knew that she should take Kenzi and go, perhaps let Dyson and Hale know about the wolf, and allow them to investigate and deal with it. Unchaining the creature certainly wasn't a smart thing to do, in fact it was probably down right stupid, but for some reason the thought of leaving the animal shackled so helplessly made her feel sick. She didn't know what to do, her instincts told her to release it, while at the same time she was afraid that...wait a minute – afraid?

Considering, for a moment, the position the animal was in, Bo suddenly realized the reason for it's continued aggression. Threat, oh yes, the wolf was definitely dangerous, but also...fear. It was wounded, and unable to escape or properly defend itself. Deciding to go with her instincts, she sheathed the knife in her hands, raising them slowly as she forced herself to loosen her posture. She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting, but was relived (and more than a little surprised) when the animal immediately stopped growling, tilting it's head as it eyed her suspiciously, but with significantly less...well, _murder_ , in it's eyes.

Feeling more confident, Bo approached the wounded animal slowly, talking softly to it. The wolf watched her closely, ears still pressed flat against it's skull, a low continuous rumble from deep within it's chest serving a blatant warning.

"Hey, shhhh, it's ok boy, I'm just going to take that chain off. I'm not going to hurt you..."

The animal didn't snarl at her again, but it didn't relax its aggressive stance either. As she got closer, she noticed that it's claws were digging deep gouges into the packed ground beneath it's massive paws, and once again questioned the wisdom of what she was planning to do. _'He definitely does not look happy, what if he turns on us as soon as he's loose? Hell, what if he rips me apart before I can even LET him loose?'_ But even though Kenzi was hissing at her to back away and leave the animal, Bo found that she couldn't. She just couldn't abandon it there, stuck and in pain. So slowly, cautiously, she took four final steps, coming to a halt near the creatures left shoulder. It had turned it's head to follow her movements warily, and she found herself staring once again into deep, emotive eyes. What had looked like solid colour from a distance was now revealed to be many shades of green, as though the very nature of the forest was reflected in the animals gaze, speckled with gold. For a several long heartbeats, she was unable to look away, until the sound of the wolf's harsh panting drew her focus back to the situation.

"I'm...I'm going to get you out of here, okay boy?"

Bo jumped as the wolf let out a rumbling huff at this, but her alarm faded as she realized that the creature had finally stopped snarling. Now that she was no longer looking straight at such an imposing set of teeth, she was able to relax enough to lean forward, carefully reaching out to touch the chain around the wolfs neck. For the first time she suddenly wondered how on earth she was actually going to get the chain off. She didn't exactly carry a set of bolt cutters or a welding kit with her, and if the wolf couldn't break free of it with brute strength then she didn't probably stand much of a chance at snapping it either. Frowning, she ran her fingers over the thick, dark links. Sticky blood slicked beneath her fingertips and she hissed in sympathy as she saw how deep into fur and flesh the unforgiving metal had bitten. Despite how close it was to the wolf's skin it was surprisingly chilled to the touch, and upon looking closer, she saw that there were strange runes carved into each link. Tracing the chain around under the animals neck, she finally found what she had been looking for, a thick, ancient padlock that kept the loops locked securely together. Anger surged in her chest as she noticed nearly a dozen extra links hanging free from one end of the chain and realized that whoever had put it on had had deliberately tightened it well beyond what would be necessary to hold the animal. No wonder it had caused so much harm – it was a miracle the wolf could even breathe.

Crouching down, she turned the worn lock in her hands, wondering how to release it. Assuming there weren't any fae tricks involved Kenzi could probably pick it without too much trouble, but a glance back at her anxious face confirmed that no amount of begging or bribery was likely to convince the girl to come close enough to do so. She was just considering the merits of trying to pick it herself with the tip of her knife when she remembered the old key Kenzi had found hidden in the shack. The chances of it being the right one seemed impossibly slim, but now that she thought about it...it had looked like it was made out of the same metal as the chain, and the symbol on it...maybe it was...yes...she was certain that it matched one of the runes on the chain, down near where the lock was.

Slowly standing up, not wanting to startle the animal least it panicked and ripped her to shreds, she called out in as normal a tone as she could. "Hey Kenzi, can you chuck me that key you found please?"

"Are you absolutely sure about this? 'Cause that thing might have calmed down a bit, but once it's free I don't think we're gonna be able to stop it. Who knows how long it's been chained up? He 's probably feeling more than a little bit peckish, and what ravenous beast wouldn't want a Bo lunch, followed by sweet little moi as dessert?"

"He's not going to eat us Kenzi, I promise." The succubus held out her hand.

Her friend shook her head and muttered a string of particularly colourful sounding Russian curses, but wrestled the key out of her tight pocket, and with one last sigh, tossed it to her. "If we both end up dead over this, I will hassle the eternal shit out of you, I swear to god."

Ignoring her, Bo snatched the key neatly out of the air and crouched back down so that she could reach for the lock. "Ok, here we go..." Taking a deep breath, she slipped it into the mechanism. It fitted perfectly, and, with a twist of her wrist, and a clunking metallic 'click', she was able to pull the padlock loose, and finally release the animal from its bonds, cringing to herself as she peeled the chain away from where it was stubbornly embedded in swollen flesh.

The instant it was free from it's shackles an explosion of movement from the wolf knocked Bo to the ground, stunning her. She heard Kenzi scream her name, and her eyes clenched shut automatically, waiting for the animal to strike.

Nothing happened.

After several excruciatingly long seconds passed without her being mauled and/or eviscerated, Bo gathered the courage to crack one eye open, and, not seeing the wolf, sat up cautiously.

Kenzi was still yelling behind her, voice fraught with terror, and she had just started to turn around to let her know that she was all right, when a rumbling growl from her left froze her in place, stomach sinking like a stone. Shaking finger fumbled for her knife again, gripping it tightly beneath white knuckles, and the succubus rolled quickly to a crouch, ready to defend the both of them to her last breath. It came as somewhat of a shock then, when she spotted the wolf mere meters from her and...completely ignoring them?

"BO! FUCK! ARE YOU OKAY?"

 _'O_ _kay_ _is_ _a relative term_ _'_ , Bo thought wryly. She didn't seem to actually be injured, but was fairly certain she had lost a least a decade off of her lifespan, and her heart was racing so hard it felt like it would bruise the inside of her ribcage. Relaxing her death-grip on the knife, and the breath she hadn't noticed she was still holding until she was starting to see spots, she quickly reassured her frantic best friend before she decided to charge over herself. "I'm fine Kenz. Not even a scratch."

Which was true. The wolf _hadn't_ hurt her. Bowled her over like a human sized skittle, yes, but considering what she had half been expecting, what the animal was likely capable of, she really wasn't complaining about a bruised ego. _'And possibly ass'_ she added to herself wryly, resisting the urge to rub said body part as it throbbed.

Feeling some of her previous confidence return, she shifted her attention once again to the source of their most recent drama.

The wolf was standing several feet from the pillar where it had been bound, eyes flicking warily between her and Kenzi, who was still holding her blade out, seemingly trying to look as threatening as possible. Eventually it seemed to come to the conclusion that neither of them were currently much of a danger and carefully stretched out each of it's powerful hind legs, as though it had just woken up from a long nap. Bo chuckled at the sight, a slight smile tugging at her lips, but her amusement faded as she noticed that the wolf wasn't putting any of it's weight on it's left front leg. She hadn't noticed that before. Was it hurt? As if in answer to her question, the animal turned and limped awkwardly back towards the stone pillar, walking only on it's other three legs and not allowing it's left paw to touch the ground. She watched as the creature bent down, seeming to inspect the chain hanging loosely from the stone, sniffing it before flopping down with a growl - apparently frustrated with something.

Bo stared at the wolf, unsure what of make of the situation. She had assumed that after releasing the animal it would either bolt straight into the forest and never be seen again, or promptly attack her. This scenario hadn't even crossed her mind, and she didn't know what to do. Should she just leave? That felt wrong somehow, though she didn't know why. Unable to resist, Bo stepped slowly back towards the wolf. It lifted its head immediately, watching her, but otherwise didn't appear to be bothered much by her presence. Taking that as a good sign, she walked over to the animal, stopping in front of it and crouching down.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Kenzi muttered, having finally relaxed and lowered her weapon, only to look up and see her best friend going back _towards_ the beast again. "Bo he's free! Why, for the love of god, are we still here?"

"He's got an injured leg Kenzi, I think it might be broken."

"And you are going toooo...what? Look at it and see? Bandage it up neatly with your shirt and pat him on the head? You _really_ want to end up as a chew toy, don't you?"

"Shhh...just stay there, okay?"

Bo heard the Russian mutter something offensive under her breath, but she stayed put, arms crossed over her chest. Confident that she didn't have to worry about Kenzi, she focused on the wolf again. It was still watching her with those unearthly green eyes, seemingly unconcerned with it's damaged limb and bloody neck, or with her close proximity. Unafraid now, the succubus took the time to really examine at the animal up close, fascinated by it's size and apparent strength and the unusual colouring of it's fur. She had a burning urge to reach out and touch the wolf, and, before she was even consciously aware of her actions, her hand had stretched out to do exactly that.

The animal jerked slightly as if in surprise, but didn't pull away or attack as her hand settled carefully on it's head. It's coat was thick and soft, so much softer than she had been expecting, and warm beneath her fingers. Bo breathed in deeply, amazed by the comfort she felt in what had to be one of the strangest situations of her life. It was then that she knew that she couldn't drive away and leave the wolf there, although what she was going to do she had no idea. After all, she couldn't just bring him back with her. I mean, the wolf would probably fit in the car, but...how would she convince it to come with them? How would she convince Kenzi to LET it come with them? What the hell would she do with him when they got back to Toronto? And, more importantly, when had she started seriously considering taking the animal with her?

She couldn't. Logically, she couldn't. And she shouldn't.

So why did she get the feeling she was going to try and do exactly that?

Withdrawing her hand from the wolfs head, Bo reached down, wanting to have a look at it's leg. Before she could make contact though, the animal growled, teeth snapping down at her arm with lightning speed, immobilizing it. Startled, the succubus flinched, expecting pain, but once again none came. Glancing down she snorted slightly, unsure whether she was more relived or amused. The wolf had closed its teeth not around her forearm, but on the sleeve of her jacket, puncturing cleanly through the dark leather. She tugged lightly, but the animal didn't release its grip, letting out another rumbling growl instead.

Dark eyes rolled beneath long lashes. "All right, I get the point. I won't touch your leg okay?"

The wolf blinked back at her around a mouthful of expensive leather.

"I promise?" She pulled her arm back towards her, and after a moments hesitation, the animal opened it's powerful jaw and allowed her to unhook herself.

Shaking her sleeve out, Bo lowered herself to a seated position on the ground, wondering what to do. She wanted to bring the wolf back with her. If she was honest with herself, she had wanted to since she had freed it, though she still wasn't completely sure why. The first problem (and that was as far as she was willing to worry about for now) would be getting the creature in the car – they couldn't exactly force him to follow them...unless he came along willingly? The wolf was clearly not a normal creature and appeared to be intelligent, more than it should be, and seemed to understand her when she spoke to it, maybe she should just...ask? Worst case scenario it didn't work and she made herself look like an idiot in front of Kenzi, but hell – it wasn't like she hadn't done _that_ before. ' _Ah, what the heck, it's worth a shot'_ she mused, straightening up so that she was looking into iridescent eyes.

"Will you come back with us?"

The wolf didn't move, but it tilted it's head to the side, which Bo took to be a positive sign. "We have a car, we're going back to the city.." The animal huffed at that but she pressed on, "I would really like you to come...you're hurt, and hungry - what are you going to do here? I can get you something to eat, and help with your leg. We won't hurt you, I promise. I just want to help."

The wolf didn't budge, and Bo trailed off, suddenly feeling ridiculous speaking to an animal that either didn't seem to comprehend what she was saying or simply didn't care. Shoulders slumping, she stood up and dusted off the seat of her pants, heading back across the clearing to talk to Kenzi before she decided what to do. She was fairly sure her friend would have some quite vocal protestations to her plan, but hoped that she would be able to calm her down enough to see that the wolf wouldn't be a threat to them.

"Tell me you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking."

….Or not.

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me succubus. We are NOT taking your freaky new pet home with us."

"Kenz-"

"NO. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to bring home strays?! Seriously, if you want a dog, we can get a Labrador or something, but you can't just keep a giant frigging wolf babe. What is this, Dyson withdrawal? At least he was house trained!"

Bo shook her head. How could she make Kenzi understand why she needed to do this when _she_ didn't even understand herself?

"Look, I know you think that this is a bad idea-"

"Because it _is_ a bad idea! It's the king of bad ideas! Hell, it makes all of our other bad ideas look like strokes of Nobel Prize winning genius!"

"But I really don't think we should leave him here. He's hurt, probably starved...and he's obviously important somehow."

Her best friend blinked at her. "Important, how'd you figure that?"

"Well he was chained up like that for a reason, the druids must have wanted something from him, or to use him for something. Not to mention he's clearly not a normal animal – no regular wolf would grow to that size. I'm pretty sure he's underfae, or some kind of fae beast, and Trick might have some interesting information on him. Besides," She crossed her arms stubbornly, "If he was going to hurt us, he's had plenty of opportunities to do so. Whatever he is, I trust him Kenzi, I really do."

The Russian sighed, shaking her head. "You aren't going to let this go are you?" Bo flashed a winning smile at her, and she threw her hands into the air in defeat. "Okay fine! Fangs can come with us. _IF_ you can get it in the car of course, which I refuse to help with because unlike you I actually value my- GAAAH!"

Kenzi yelped and jumped backwards, almost tumbling over in shock. Her grey eyes widened as they fixed on something behind the succubus. "When the heck did you sneak up on us?"

Bo spun around, bursting into laughter as she spotted the wolf. The animal had apparently decided to follow her after all, and, having padded over silently at some point during her argument with her best friend, was now seated patiently behind her, watching them both.

Deciding that it was probably best to try and get Kenzi used to the animal now rather than later, she reached out and grasped her arm lightly.

"Trust me," she murmured, "He won't hurt you. Try petting him."

She met the wolf's gaze, silently pleading with it not to react badly.

Hesitantly, the Russian stretched out her hand, gingerly resting it on the animals head. One of it's ears twitched, but otherwise it didn't move, and Bo did a mental victory dance as she saw Kenzi relax, fingers scratching lightly through soft fur. "Damn Bo, you didn't mention the eyes. That's some wicked shit right there."

Bo snorted. "Hey, it's not my fault you couldn't look past his teeth!" The wolf rumbled grumpily and the succubus put her hands on her hips. "See! You insulted him!" Another rumble.

"Ahhh, I don't think I'm the one doing the insulting Bobo..." Kenzi smirked, arching a sculpted eyebrow.

"What do you mean? What did _I_ do?"

"Well, I don't think _she_ appreciates the way you keep referring to _her_."

Bo blinked skeptically. "Wait, It's a girl?!" She peered at the wolf suspiciously. "How can you even tell?"

Her best friend rolled her eyes. "Really? You're a succubus that doesn't know the difference between boys and girls? Do I need to give you the sex talk? Explain the birds and bees? Perhaps draw you a couple of helpful diagrams?"

"OKAY. I get the point. Hilarious. What I meant was how can you tell when it's so...fluffy?"

"Annnd no fluffy junk. Hence – girl."

"Well excuse me for not focusing on what the strange animal has between it's legs. I was kinda preoccupied with trying to free it and hoping not to die. I just assumed it was male because it's so big."

The wolf apparently took offence at this and butted it's large head into her side solidly, knocking the wind out of her and very nearly bowling her over again. "All right, all right! I'm sorry girl."

She pouted, spinning around and striding back towards the two boulders that marked the opening to the trail. "Now that you two traitors have become friendly enough to gang up on me, do you think we could get out of here?"

The wolf glanced over at Kenzi and rumbled softly, standing up again and plodding after the succubus. The girl sniggered to herself, shaking her head.

"Yeah, yeah. We're coming."


	3. On The Road Again

**Thanks for the reassuring reviews guys, as I said, this is not a story I thought was going to be of much interest, and it's nice to know at least some people seem to be enjoying it. Before you get excited, no, I don't have unlimited chapters to continue posting so quickly ;D There is only a few more that are ready to go, then the rest will come as my muse co-operates with writing them. And since she is currently being poked and prodded into finishing the next chapter of Birth by Fire, I don't know when that will be. Until then, on with the show!**

 **Chapter Three – On The Road Again**

Of course, as it turned out, getting the wolf into the car was a lot easier said than done.

Despite Bo's concern about it's damaged leg, the animal seemed to have no problem walking back along the overgrown path through the woods, easily keeping a steady pace with her and Kenzi on only three legs, purposeful stride never faltering even when the two women had slipped and tripped on the uneven wet ground occasionally. It was when they finally got back out of the forest and into the semi-light of day that things started getting complicated.

As soon as they were back in the vicinity of the old house, the wolf's hackles went up as she began growling again, and no amount of soothing attempts from Bo seemed calm her down.

"Do you think there's someone still hidden in there? Or something?" The succubus reached for her trusty dagger once again, disturbed by the thought of a possible danger lurking amongst the trees, watching them.

"Nah, we checked the whole shack pretty damn thoroughly, there was definitely no-one there. She clearly just has an issue with the place." Kenzi glanced in front of them, where the wolf was glaring in the direction of the building, muzzle once again drawn back in a threatening snarl.

"Yeah, well I guess that's not surprising considering what the bastards who lived here did to her, hmm?" Sighing, Bo sheathed her knife and stepped forward, resting her hand on the wolfs bristled neck, careful to avoid the damage from the chain. The animal stiffened further under her touch, but finally tore her gaze from the house, shaking Bo's hand off and wandering in silence towards the waiting Camaro.

And therein lay the second problem.

The car.

More specifically, the _size_ of the car compared to that of the wolf. Seeing the animal standing next to it, head coming right up to the convertibles raised roof, Bo had to wonder how on earth this was going to work. Even if she wanted too, she couldn't exactly put the wolf in the boot, and the back seat of of her trusty beast was suddenly looking a whole lot smaller than she remembered it to be. It seemed like her new furry friend was having similar thoughts, as she turned her head from the car to the succubus and back again, before sitting down next to it with a disgruntled huff and sniffing at a small mud puddle under the back right wheel with undisguised interest.

Bo was confused for a moment, until, struck with a sudden alarming thought, she rushed to the boot and opened it up, rummaging through the pile of weapons and other useful (and some not so) items stored in there until she found what she was looking for. Three large bottles of water. Another quick search uncovered a serviceable plastic container, and she walked back around to the wolf, who was now watching her intently, ears pricked up. She placed the makeshift bowl on the ground in front of her and emptied one of the bottles into it, nearly tipping the last of it out onto the animals head as it dove eagerly for the offered liquid. The wolf drank greedily, rapidly emptying the container, which Bo obligingly refilled with one of the other bottles when she was meet with a pleading whine. Not so desperate now, the wolf lapped this up slower, not quite finishing it all. Satisfied that the animal's thirst had been sated for now and that she was no longer in any imminent danger from dehydration, Bo put the container and the remaining bottle back into the boot, grinning as she looked up to see the wolf cleaning stray droplets of water from around her muzzle with a raspy pink tongue.

The succubus returned to the side of the car, opening the door and dropping forward the front seat for the wolf, then hesitated, wondering how she would manage to get in with her broken leg. A scrambling sound answered her silent question, and she bit back a laugh as the wolf clambered awkwardly through the door and into the back seat, sheathed claws scrabbling for purchase to pull herself across. The animal drew her hind legs up beneath her body, but quickly found that she was simply too tall for that to work, and was forced to spread out instead, stretching her long legs legs out behind her...and promptly colliding with the upholstery behind her, while Bo carefully slid the seat back in to place. The wolf growled slightly in obvious vexation before eventually settling in, laying down with her head resting on her uninjured paw.

 _'Another crisis resolved.'_ Bo though for herself, climbing into the drivers seat and smiling (in what she sincerely hoped was a reassuring manner) at a still slightly nervous looking Kenzi as she buckled up beside her.

"Ready to get this show on the road?"

"I think you mean freak-show, but sure. Let's roll. Just...one quick question though – what if someone notices the big fanged fur-ball in the back?"

"Oh yeah, I had wondered about that, but I figured that since we'll be moving no-one's really going to get a chance to have a good look at her. If they do catch a glimpse they'll just assume she's a really big Husky or Malamute or something."

The human raised a narrow eyebrow. "And if we stop? Or get pulled over?"

Bo chuckled and wiggled her fingers. "Succubus touch my friend! Weasels us out of all sorts of awkward explanations, remember?"

"Ah yes, your so-called magic fingers. And yet you still make me pay for shit."

Bo glared at her reproachfully.

"Yeah yeah, I know...with great power comes great responsibility and everything. I saw that movie too, nerd."

Bo just snorted, shaking her head with a bemused grin as she started the car, drowning out the sound of Kenzi's ever appreciated snark with the crunching of gravel under the rubber tires as she pulled away from the crumbling shack, watching it and its spooky surroundings fade in the rear-view mirror as they headed back down the dirt road towards civilization.

* * *

An hour and a half later, and the persistent grumbling of Kenzi and her empty stomach finally convinced Bo that it was probably a good time to pull over at an upcoming diner. She was starting to feel pretty hungry herself (the regular, non-chi related kind thankfully) and really wanted to get some kind of food for the poor wolf in the back seat as well.

She turned off and circled around to the rear of the small brick building, making sure to park in shaded and empty a corner at the very back of the lot, which trailed off into a reasonably densely wooded area where a faint rushing carried by the wind betrayed the presence of a nearby river hidden in the thicket to those who cared to listen closely enough. There were only a few other people around, the small out-of-the-way nature of the two nearby towns they were between, along with the season, had chased most of the business from the area. This was something Bo was particularly grateful for as she glanced into the back seat and was reminded once again of just how unsubtle (and probably downright illegal to be carting around like a poodle) their new friend was.

The slamming of a door snapped her out of her thoughts as Kenzi leapt out impatiently, bouncing on the spot. "Come ooonnnnn Bo. Mama needs her sugar fix."

The succubus climbed out of the car, but wavered, looking though the dusty back window at the wolf. The animal had raised her head and was watching them closely, head tilted, emerald eyes glinting in the pale light that had managed to make it through the thick grey cloud. Bo suddenly felt guilty, not wanting to leave the animal behind – particularly not locked in a vehicle that only barely allowed her to fit.

"Are you sure we should leave the wolf in the car?"

"Well I certainly don't think we should take her in with us. I'm sure I spotted a 'No Dogs' sign somewhere, and we don't even have her leash."

Ignoring Kenzi's sarcasm, Bo frowned and turned back to the window again. While the two of them had been talking the animal had lowered her head back to her paws, and now blinked up at her with a calm, sleepy expression that allowed her to relax somewhat. "Yeah I guess. But we should hurry. It's not fair to leave her locked up like that, and besides, we really don't want anyone to come over and notice her."

Truthfully Bo didn't want to be away from the animal at all, but she didn't have a clue as to why, nor did she want to think about it too closely, so she shook the feeling aside and returned her attention to Kenzi, who, pulled by her ever-demanding stomach, had already started shuffling in the direction of the diner.

"We'll just be a few minutes." She murmured to the wolf, closing the door behind her, pausing only to unwind the two front windows a little to allow fresh air to circulate. With one last nervous glance back at the car, she followed her best friend inside.

As soon as they were through the sliding doors, Kenzi made a beeline for the toilets, leaving Bo standing awkwardly by herself in the entranceway. As she had suspected, despite it's location on the side of a highway, the place was relatively empty, only a handful of scruffy patrons scattered around the tables. Most were obviously locals from the nearby town, and they eyed the two girls with slight suspicion before losing interest and returning to their meals in silence. A rotund matronly looking woman wearing a frilly floral apron scurried around from behind the gleaming counter with two slightly dog-eared menus, grey-streaked blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders as she hustled her new customer to a table by the front window, doing the same to Kenzi when she emerged from the bathroom.

Bo read the simple but hearty menu with interest before ordering a toasted sandwich and a large coffee – a rather modest effort compared to Kenzi's giant stack of pancakes with sides of scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon and hash browns. She really had no idea where the tiny human put all of her food. After placing their own orders, the succubus spent several minutes going over the menu again, wondering what on earth to get for the large hungry animal they had left in the parking lot. Wolves were carnivores, she knew that of course, but the dinar didn't exactly have rabbits and deer listed on the specials board.

Hmm, they did have venison pie though...was pastry good for wolves?

Probably not.

Eventually she decided to order two large steaks by themselves to go, making sure to ask for them done 'extra rare please'. Raw would probably be better, but she doubted the cook would accept that without a convincing explanation and she didn't want to draw any more attention to them than she was already getting (succubus allure and all that crap that made things like going incognito far harder than it should be). After a few moments consideration she added a side of sausages to the takeaway order, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the hovering waitress at the sheer amount of food the two of them had requested. After all, the wolf looked like she required a lot of nutrition just to sustain her body, and she _had_ seemed incredibly hungry – who knew how long she had been chained up in that clearing unable to fend for herself? She somehow suspected that the fae who had left her there wouldn't have bothered to provide her with food even before they had fled. Assholes.

Thankfully their orders arrived soon after they had placed them due to the lack of a crowd, and Kenzi bolted hers at her usual alarming rate, washing it all down with a massive chocolate milkshake. Bo ate hers more carefully, but still quickly, wanting to get away from the curious gazes of the locals and back to their mysterious travelling companion. She politely side-stepped their friendly host's attempt at making conversation and paid the tab, making sure to grab some snacks and drinks for the rest of the journey.

She didn't know why she was so relived to find the wolf exactly where they had left her, but the sight of two big fuzzy ears peeking over the window frame caused her to relax again for the first time since they had gone to eat. Speaking of which...how was she going to feed the animal? She probably would want a drink again too.

Bo frowned and glanced around the gravel lot. Not a soul was in sight. Surely it wouldn't hurt to let the wolf out of the car for a bit...?

Apparently Kenzi was having similar thoughts, and the succubus bit back her amusement as the previously scathing girl pushed past her to press her face against the glass, tapping, and greeting the animal with a barrage of baby-talk she would never have thought her capable of as the wolf lifted her head sleepily, tilting it to the side as the small human cooed at her.

"Yo, do you think we should let her out for a while?"

"I was wondering about that. But what if someone comes out sees her?"

"Bo, this place is even deader than the local cemetery – no-one is going to be around to notice if we let her out into the trees to stretch her three functioning legs. Besides, she probably needs to do her business, and I for one will not be scrubbing underfae-wolf pee off the upholstery when we get home."

The succubus cringed. "Good point. I can't believe I hadn't thought of that." She went around the other side of the vehicle and opened the door, wolf's head turning sharply at the sound, ears pricking in her direction. "C'mon, out you get. Don't you wanna stretch your legs?"

Nostrils flared as the wolf lifted it's muzzle and sniffed the air. Bo smiled at her.

"Yeah, I've got some food for you. Come on, we're just going into the woods a little bit."

The word 'food' was apparently sufficient motivation, as the animal promptly began an awkward backwards crawl to get out of the back seat without the use of her injured limb. Eventually all four feet were (mostly) on the ground and with a brief shake to re-align her rumpled coat, an eager looking wolf loped after the two brunettes as they pushed through the trees, heading towards the sound of the nearby river. Thankfully it was only a short walk away, and in five minutes the they were all seated on a dry patch of shingles next to the fast flowing water. Kenzi was shaking mud off of her heeled boots yet again and complaining liberally about the unfairness of having to tramp through the wilderness for the second time in one day, but the animal's full attention was fixed on Bo, whining imploringly and butting her impatiently in the chest when she didn't immediately produce the source of the alluring aroma that had been tantalising her the whole way over.

"All right, all right, it's coming!" The succubus fumbled around in her pack, carefully pulling out the Styrofoam carton that had the first steak and opening it, setting it down between the frantic wolf's paws.

"Now, I know you probably prefer your food raw, but..." She broke off, jaw dropping, as with two chomps and a couple of swallows, 12 ounces of prime meat disappeared right in front of her eyes without so much as a pause for air.

"Huh. And here I thought my second-cousin Alexei could eat."

Bo snorted at Kenzi's comment, shaking her head as a rough pink tongue s-wept up the juices left in the container before vanishing back behind long white teeth. Satisfied that nothing had escaped her, the wolf turned her focus back to the succubus with the delicious smelling bag, blinking at her hopefully.

 _There was more meat in there...she could smell it so strongly...and she was still ever so hungry._

 _Her ears twitched._

 _All around her she could hear, smell, **feel** the life seething, in the water, the undergrowth, the trees. The forest was alive around her, and she was its greatest power. There was prey there, moving through their habitats, and she knew for certain she could catch it – broken leg or not. It would be so easy to slip away. To bound back into the depths of the forest. Her forest. The humans would never catch her...they could never hope to follow her. The land would welcome her into it's embrace, and she would be gone._

 _And yet..._

 _Something was keeping her here, with these humans. Well, human. And a fae woman – a young but incredibly powerful succubus. Her nose had warned her of that long before the pair had even reached her. But she hadn't attacked, hadn't even fled once she was freed. Freed by the fae no less. Something about the woman had captured her curiosity, and her trust, and though she loathed to leave the forest she knew well enough to trust in her instincts. They were, after all, the only reason she was still alive today._

 _And so...despite the seductive pull of the woodland around her, despite her very nature (proud and solitary as it was), she stayed with the two unusual woman who had continued to surprise her._

 _Goddess was she_ _ravenous_ _though._

 _She needed a lot of energy to fuel her body, and she hadn't been able to hunt, hadn't eaten_ _at all_ _in_ _nearly_ _two_ _week_ _s_ _._ _Far t_ _o_ _o long. The people she was with had meat though. Lot's of it. Succulent and juicy,_ _dripping_ _with goodness._ _Maybe_ _i_ _f_ _she knew how hungry she was_ _the kind_ _fae_ _woman would give her some more?_

The wolf wagged her bushy tail from where she was seated on the ground, sending waves of sand and gravel flying in all directions, and causing Kenzi to jump a little in surprise while Bo laughed in delight.

"Wow, no complaints about the menu then?" Relieved that the cooked meat was still apparently palatable to the wild animal, Bo pulled out the second container. "Here you go, I didn't think that one would be enough for you."

The second steak managed to last a grand total of three seconds longer than the first, which was long enough for Bo to fish out the last package, containing the sausages, infinitely grateful that she had chosen to get so much food. The wolf paused in her meticulous licking of the Styrofoam to look across at her with a hopeful expression, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she watched the succubus open the remaining container. The scent of the pork sausages inside intensified as the lid was removed, flooding the air around her sensitive snout, and she wiggled her tail again.

 _'For me?'_

"Dude, you had better give her that before she takes it right out of your fingers...along with your actual fingers."

Kenzi's statement hit the succubus like a challenge and, inspired by a sudden surge of confidence towards the wolf, she held the container out to her in her hand instead of putting it down. The animal looked from her to the food and back again, as if awaiting permission. She nodded, and razor-sharp white teeth snapped forward, neatly taking a sausage with a 'snick'. It was chewed once, then swallowed, but the wolf didn't move for the others, intelligent green eyes watching Bo carefully.

 _'Ok. Point proven. Time to stop being mean and let her eat.'_

Feeling a little guilty for using the borderline starved wolf to mess with her best friend, Bo put the tray down for her, indicating for her to take the rest. The animal lowered her bushy head, however to Bo's absolute shock she didn't take any more of the sausages, but rather nudged the tray back along the ground towards her.

"It's okay, you can have them. I was just messing around. I got them for you."

The wolf blinked and bent down again, this time pushing the container carefully over the shingles to Kenzi.

"Umm, can I help you?"

She nudged the tray closer, tilting her head.

"Wait, are you offering me one? Is that what's happening? Are you trying to share your food?"

A huff.

"Woah! That is so cool. Thanks fluffy!" She grinned and ruffled the wolf's head, earning a disgruntled rumble. "But seriously, I'm fine. Stuffed in fact. The greasy meat products are all for you – me and suckyface over there have already had our lunch..."

Kenzi pushed the tray back to the animal, pulling a face when she pounced on the remaining sausages, scoffing half of them down without even pausing to take a breath.

"...and I'm guessing you haven't had any kind of meal for quite a while."

Finally satisfied, the wolf cleaned the last traces of her succulent lunch from around her muzzle, then trotted down to the rivers sloped edge, drinking deeply from the cool water that flowed fresh through the valley from a nearby mountain. Bo watched her carefully, pleased that the wolf seemed to be a lot more content now that she had eaten something.

They really should be heading home though. At this rate it was going to be midnight before they were back at the clubhouse. She had flicked a quick text to Dyson letting him know that the mission had been a bust, but no doubt Trick would start to worry if they didn't report in to him personally to explain what they had (or hadn't) found by tomorrow. The problem was, she really didn't know how to explain the wolf they had brought back, or why she had felt so compelled to do so. It didn't feel right somehow, to share the wolf with others, but how could she explain the story without mentioning her? Maybe she could just leave out the part about how they had brought her back with them, say she ran back into the forest or something...but no, she couldn't lie to her grandfather like that. She would just have to bite the bullet and try to make him understand.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she stood up and began picking up the empty food cartons, wanting to get going. "Come on Kenz, we need to...wait, where's the wolf?"

A rustling behind her answered that question, as the animal materialized out from a particularly dense patch of bushes and wandered over to them, standing next to her as though waiting for them to move.

At Bo's questioning look, Kenzi simply shrugged. "I assume she went to do her business. I wasn't exactly going to follow her."

"Ah. Well now that we're done here, we really should head back to the car." She smiled at the wolf.  
"Next stop, The Crack-Shack. It's cozier than it sounds, I promise."

* * *

The sun had set by the time they made it back into the city, and it was well and truly dark by the time they finally rolled to a stop behind the old derelict building which Bo and Kenzi had made their home.

Though drafty at times it certainly had it's perks, one of which was the lack of nosy neighbors – something which the succubus was never so grateful for than now, as the large wolf scrambled out of the car and padded silently behind her through the door.

Thoroughly worn out from the days excitement (and the forced hiking), Kenzi said a quick goodnight and headed up the stairs to collapse in her room, leaving Bo to figure out what to do with their new companion. She hesitated slightly, unsure whether to bring the wolf into her room, but eventually deciding that it would be best to leave her down in the lounge – at least for now. The succubus fetched the thickest woollen blanket she could find and laid it out on the floor next to the couch alongside a large bowl of water, pleased when the wolf went straight to it, stretching herself carefully and turning around in a circle before laying down and settling in.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me then."

Expressive eyes focused on her, long ears flicking back, and Bo reached out, brushing her fingers over the animals head. She felt more relaxed around the wolf, far more comfortable touching and talking to her now that they were alone. After a few minutes of gentle rhythmic petting the animal yawned widely, giving Bo a startling view of her deadly teeth, before her eyes began to drift shut, lulled by the warmth and sense of security this strange place offered.

 _It had been a long and incredibly unusual day, and she was so very tired. She knew she should stay awake, stay alert...but she was warm and full and comfortable. She felt safe here...and she so desperately needed to rest properly..._

Bo smiled as she watched the wolf drifting off, chest rising and falling steadily with each soundless breath. "Yeah, it's late isn't it? I'll, uh, see you in the morning I guess."

She stood up and, with one last look back at the now slumbering wolf, headed upstairs to get some much needed sleep of her own.

It was in the very early hours of the morning when the succubus awoke again, all attempts to stay in a state of dreamy unconsciousness thwarted by her desperate need to go to the bathroom. Cursing her decision to drink so much soda with the take-out meal she and Kenzi had grabbed on the way home (though it was worth it just to see the Russian's face when the wolf had leaned silently over the seat and snuck a bunch of fries right out of her hand) she fumbled for the light on her night stand, wincing as her eyes adjusted to the sudden offensive brightness, and stumbling regretfully out of the warmth of her bed.

Unfortunately, by the time she had walked to the bathroom, emptied her screaming bladder and washed her hands, Bo found herself feeling far more awake than she wanted to be. After twenty long minutes of tossing and turning amongst her sheets as she tried to get back to sleep she finally decided to head down and get herself a glass of water, hoping that soothing the dryness in her mouth would allow her to relax enough to drift off again.

Heaving a sigh, she climbed back out of bed, tying her favourite red kimono securely around her waist and headed for the stairs, tiptoeing so as not to wake her best friend (though she knew from experience that Kenzi could probably sleep through a fighter jet being downed in the back yard, let alone a bit of bumping and squeaking). Creeping carefully down the creaky staircase and into the living room, the succubus glanced over to where she had left the wolf sleeping peacefully, only to freeze in shock.

She shook her head and blinked several times, wondering if she was in fact still half asleep and dreaming, before finally coming to the startling conclusion that what she was seeing was indeed real.

The wolf was gone.

And in it's place was curled a beautiful blonde woman, fast asleep, and naked as the day she was born.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuuunn!**

 **Alright, hands up who saw that coming a mile away?**


	4. Nothing Like an Awkward Introduction

**Chapter Four – Nothing Like an Awkward Introduction**

Startled, Bo stepped back, hand flying instinctively to her waist only to freeze – cursing under her breath when she realized that she was entirely unarmed.

The sound instantly awoke the unidentified woman, who pushed herself up from the floor in a flash, crouching defensively. The movement brought her face into view for the first time and the succubus was mesmerized for a moment by the beautiful angular features revealed from behind a curtain of silky golden hair before she noticed the swirling emerald eyes and the bruised, shredded skin around the woman's long neck and her stumbling mind finally put two and two together. The woman in front of her _was_ the wolf they had found! Was she a shifter? Why hadn't she shifted earlier then? Why hadn't she spoken to them, or left once she had been freed?

"Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer, but instead bared her blunt human teeth in threat, eyes flicking from Bo to around the room and back again rapidly. Seeing her focus on the door and boarded-up windows the succubus moved quickly, putting herself firmly between the woman and any possible escape routes. She wanted answers. Predictably, the stranger didn't react well to this, growling low in her throat and backing up further, fingers of her right hand curling as though to form claws. Her left arm she pulled tightly to her chest, inadvertently revealing the swollen dark purple and black bruising that spread from her wrist to just under her elbow. Bo tensed expecting her to shift back to a wolf, or into a half form like Dyson often did, but nothing happened.

The blonde frowned, looking down at her clawed – but still human – hand. _"Damn it."_

She had a beautiful voice as well, Bo thought, though it was husky from lack of use, and possibly damage from her injuries...the reminder of which just brought more questions to her mind. "Why were you in your wolf form in the forest? And why were you chained up? Why didn't you shift back and talk to us when I rescued you?!"

The woman paused in her shuffling around and looked at Bo suspiciously. "You don't know?"

The succubus stared blankly at her and she relaxed slightly, eyes fading to a more natural but no less beautiful glittering honey-brown.

"You don't know what I am?"

"You're a shifter, aren't you?"

At this the woman snorted, rolling her eyes in bemusement. "A half-ling? Well, I suppose I've been called worse." She bent down and carefully picked up the blanket she had been sleeping soundly on until she was so rudely awakened, wrapping it around her like a particularly long towel, using her injured arm to hold it in place and inadvertently drawing Bo's attention back to her body. _'_ _Ah yes_ _, definitely a succubus this one.'_ Much to her amusement the brunette quickly blushed and looked away. ' _A_ _ **virtuous**_ _succubus? How_ _curious_ _.'_ She shook her head, scolding herself for allowing herself to relax in this situation before remembering that she was supposed to be following her instincts, and that much to her surprise none of them were screaming at her in warning. Well, the woman _had_ freed her she supposed, and even if she was fae, she owed her for that. She shuddered to think of what the consequences could have been if the druids had returned, or if she had been found by someone or something else while she was chained in that clearing. Besides, she and the other woman had been nothing but kind to her even when they had thought she was no more than an underfae or strange wild animal, and she hadn't smelt any deception when the succubus had asked what she was.

With this in mind she finally stepped towards the brunette, meeting her gaze openly with her own. "My name is Lauren, and I owe you a great debt for saving me."

The brunette faltered slightly, thrown totally off guard by the strangers abrupt change in temperament.

"Bo. My name I mean. I'm Bo." She winced to herself. _'Oh_ _yeah,_ _that was smooth.'_ She finally felt her pounding heart beginning to slow, but her brain still swirled with questions and confusion. Setting her jaw, she meet Lauren's gaze firmly.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Why did you pretend to be a wolf the whole time?"

The woman sighed, running her fingers through the tangles in her long blonde hair. "I wasn't pretending anything." She raised her hand when the succubus went to argue. "I did not know who you were or if I could trust you, this is true, but I couldn't have spoken to you even if I tried. Though I attempted too several times, I was unable to change into my human form."

Bo seemed to be genuinely taken aback by this. "What do you mean 'unable'? Did you suddenly forget how or something?"

A slight grin tugged at the blondes lips. "No, I didn't forget how. The chains from which you released me are of ancient construction, and were forged using powerful dark magic." Her free hand drifted up to her throat unconsciously, long fingers tracing the marred flesh left behind by the unforgiving metal. "They are intended specifically for holding the most powerful of supernatural beings, and binding them as they are. I was unable to break free or shift once I was caught in them, and I suspect that it was a result of two weeks imprisonment that left enough traces of the enchantments on my skin and in my bloodstream to have a lingering effect. I seem to have changed back unwittingly while I was asleep, though I now appear to be unable to access my wolf form."

"Oh. Well I guess that makes sense. But..." Bo trailed off, uncertain of how to phrase the question she so desperately wanted to ask.

"What?" Though still cautious, Lauren was curious now.

"I just wanted to know why you followed us? Why did you let us take you back to the city?"

 _'_ _Ah._ _'_ Now that would be a lot easier to respond to if she knew the answer herself. Since being open and honest seemed to be her tactic so far, she decided she might as well continue with it.

"I don't know."

The succubus stared at her blankly, clearly unimpressed with the non-answer.

"I mean...I followed you because my instincts were telling me that I should." Lauren shrugged her shoulders. "I really can't give you any other explanation, but that my instincts are a critical part of what I am, and that I've only lived as long as I have by following them. When you approached me in that clearing I was expecting the worst, but something told me I could trust you. Once you had freed me, I knew I should run, but I at the same time I felt like I should stay. It's the same reason I got into your car, came back to the city – it just felt _right._ " The blonde shook her head slightly, a look of frustration crossing her face. "I can't really explain it to you Bo, but believe me, it was not a decision I made lightly or on a whim."

"I believe you." Judging from the widening of her eyes, the succubus's words had surprised herself as well. "I would probably normally think you were nuts or a stalker or something, but I guess I kind of felt the same way."

Lauren's hand twitched, eyes becoming unreadable for a moment. "What do you mean by that? You felt a compulsion? In the clearing?"

"No. Well, I guess? Sort of. I know I definitely felt compelled to help you, which lets face it is not a typical response that most people would have when faced with a big scary wolf." The blonde chuckled and nodded, indicating for her to continue. "And afterwards...I don't know, it was like I was drawn to you, like I felt as though I had to protect you or something." Her cheeks coloured, shaking her head at herself. "Annnd now _I_ sound like a crazy person or a stalker."

"No." Lauren's words were firm, though her face was still shadowed. "I don't think you're crazy." She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, before thinking better of it and falling into silence again. The two remained staring at each other for several long minutes, the air tense with unspoken questions, until Bo finally shook herself mentally out of her awkwardness and cleared her throat.

"Would you, um, like to borrow some clothes?"

The other woman blinked, having completely forgotten about her state of undress. Nudity didn't particularly bother her (it was after all how she spent a significant portion of her time) but she knew that it did tend to have a variety of amusing effects on those who were not of her kind, and she couldn't really walk around in nothing but a blanket for however long she was here. "That would be good, thank you."

Bo nodded. "Come with me then." She turned and headed back up the stairs, curious to note that the woman following her made no sound with her movements, even as she stepped across the creaky old floorboards. ' _What is she, some kind of freaky wolf ninja?_ _'_ The little voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Kenzi and she found herself smiling as she lead Lauren into her bedroom.

The blonde looked around with interest, appreciating the simple but beautiful furnishings. The most noticeable exception of luxury was the massive four poster bed, tall columns of fluted marble meeting two wooden beams that came together in an 'X' and were draped with silky pink and purple fabrics that matched the covers. It looked utterly inviting and totally decadent, and Lauren found herself unable to look away as she imagined the young succubus lying in it, sleeping in it, naked in it, silk sheets caressing her bare skin as she writhed and- ' _ **woah**_ _...where the hell did that come from?!_ _'_ She close her eyes and took a deep slow breath, centering herself before she continued into the room. ' _Focus Lauren. What are you, a fourteen year old boy?'_

Bo turned in just time to catch a tantalizing glimpse of the blondes blazing aura, the beautiful sight making her breath catch in her throat before all of a sudden it seemed to retreat back into the woman like a receding tide, vanishing entirely apart from a faint silvery glow that clung tightly to her form. This stunned her even more than the previous light display. She had never known anyone who could control their aura like that before, let alone make it disappear. Now she thought about it though, she hadn't noticed any aura at all around Lauren downstairs – how was that even possible?

Lauren had caught the changing expressions on her face and was cursing herself for her stupidity. She had forgotten that succubi could read auras, surely Bo would be curious when she noticed hers. She saw the woman open her mouth to speak and interrupted her quickly, hoping a distraction would buy her some time to figure out if she could truly trust her enough to honestly answer the questions that she was bound to ask sooner or later.

"So, what am I going to be wearing? Unless of course you would rather I just stayed in the blanket?"

Yep, that did the trick. The brunette's mouth closed with a stunned 'click', her eyes dropping straight to Lauren's bare shoulders before drifting down the length of her frame, pausing at the slope of her revealed calf. Perfect white teeth snagged a full lower lip and she swallowed visibly before spinning back to her oak dresser.

"No, no! You can take off the blanket – and put on some clothes, I mean!" Bo hurriedly tossed a white tank-top and a pair of sleep shorts over her shoulder, not ready to turn and face the statuesque blonde until she was properly covered. Her hand hesitated over a pair of underwear. Would Lauren want to borrow some? She wasn't wearing...any...oh my. Her mind had taken the opportunity to helpfully supply the detailed memory of the woman as she had slept, unaware of her presence...a smooth, strong back leading down to a firm, perfect- ' _NOPE.'_ She cut the image of and picked up a mental crowbar, using it to beat her rising succubus back down. ' _So not thinking about that now..._ _although...she hadn't had any tan lines_ _on that beautiful golden skin_ _, had she? Hmm, she_ _obviously_ _wandered around the woods naked a lot. Oooh, now there was a_ _delicious_ _mental image...maybe I should take up hiking as a hobby?_ _'_

Bo suddenly realized that she had been standing in front of her open drawer with her back to her guest fiddling idly with a pair of her own underwear for the past several minutes, and spun back to face Lauren, hoping she had taken the opportunity to put on some clothes. She hadn't as it turned out, but rather seemed to be deeply focused on using her good hand to awkwardly separate the knots that had formed in her hair where blood had matted it. That couldn't be good. And neither could the thin layer of sweat and dirt that coated her skin, something Bo honestly couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before. "Would you like a shower?"

"Goddess yes!" A flush bloomed across the blonde's cheeks as she realized how loud and quickly that had come out. "I mean, if you don't mind, that would be fantastic."

"Not at all. Follow me.." Throwing the tamest set of lingerie she could find onto the small pile of clothes on the floor before scooping it into her arms to keep her hands under control, the succubus lead Lauren through to the Crack-shack's somewhat dilapidated but fully functional bathroom. "Um, the shower works, well, just like a shower. The soap and shampoo and stuff in the blue basket over there is mine – feel free to use whatever you want." Flashing a smile at her guests sincere 'thank you', she put the clothing down next to the basin and backed quickly out of the room, not trusting her ability to keep from imaging the way the steaming water would caress it's way down her body if she stayed in the bathroom with the woman much longer.

For her part, the shower was something of absolute pleasure for Lauren as well. It felt incredible to be clean again, and though the soap and shampoo tinged hot water burned like hell-fire when it touched the open wound around her neck it also offered beautiful relief to her cramped and aching muscles. She took her time to scrub away all the traces of her time spent restrained in the forest, drying herself with a soft towel once she was done (though only after just barely resisting the annoyingly well ingrained urge to shake). Pulling on the clothes Bo had been kind enough to lend her, Lauren was caught unprepared for the effect the succubus's scent had when it surrounded her senses. The urge to take quick, greedy breaths was quickly squashed but she made a mental note of yet another oddity the fae she had just met seemed to be having on her before heading back in to face the other woman.

Bo turned quickly from where she had been waiting by the bed, and only just kept herself from making what was sure to be a very embarrassing sound. It seemed she had finally put some clothes on instead of just wandering around in a blanket, but Bo wasn't convinced that it was a change for the better – at least as far as her sanity was concerned.

The succubus's tank-top may not have clung to her chest the same way it did on Bo (sadly? Thankfully?), but it did serve to highlight the impressive definition in her arms and shoulders – _'god she must be strong'_ – and those shorts...sweet Jesus those shorts. They normally came to just above the knee on her, but on Lauren? Upper thigh. Very high upper thigh. Bo was vaguely aware that she was staring at the woman's legs, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Long, toned... _'so smooth..I wonder what they'd feel like wrapped_ _tightly_ _around my-_ _ **dam**_ _ **m**_ _ **it, mental crowbar, mental crowbar!**_ _'_

A glimpse of Lauren's left arm, however, quickly re-diverted her attention to the other matter at hand. "That must hurt."

"Hm? Oh, my arm?"

The succubus nodded. "And your neck. I imagine that was done by the chain, but what happened to your arm?"

The blonde winced. "The same actually. The druids you were tracking had been hunting me. They finally caught up to me and attacked, and I was running towards them to return the favour when they suddenly shot at me. I was so busy dodging a relatively harmless bullet that I didn't notice one of them appear to my left and fire a crossbow until it was too late. It was loaded with the chain, which wrapped around my leg and brought me down." She didn't mention that the snap of the chain had only bruised her, that the real damage had been done as she tried to flee once more, and – severely weakened by the onset of the cursed metal tightening around her flesh – had stumbled straight into a modified bear-trap. She had realized in a fraction of a second what was about to happen when her paw touched metal and her ears detected that dreaded 'click', but by then it was too late, and the mechanism had slammed shut on her leg with enough force to bend six inches of steel. Thankfully the limb had remained attached but it had been effectively shattered it in three places, the crunch audible for a hundred yards.

"Oh god." Bo looked genuinely upset. "That must of really hurt." It certainly had, though at the time she had been so furious that she had barely even noticed the pain. "Is it broken?"

"It was, yes." The brunette looked at Lauren in concern. "In three places – _but_ " she quickly reassured the now horrified looking woman, "It is healing. My body repairs itself quickly, the breaks are already properly realigned and have healed up to just cracks. Now that I am no longer bound by that damn chain – and so long as I rest my arm – it should be as good as new in a few days."

"Well that's a relief. I still really think I should bandage it up for you though, is that okay?"

Lauren was taken-aback. This young fae was indeed very different from most that she had met. "If it is not too much trouble, that would be much appreciated, thank you."

"No problem, just wait here a second."

Bo practically ran to the bathroom for their sizable first-aid kit (her and Kenzi had learnt early on that medical supplies were something they needed to keep well stocked), pausing only to grab a clean wash-cloth and fill the empty jug by her bed with hot water. It didn't take her long to expertly wrap a thickly padded bandage securely around Lauren's arm, impressed with the way she didn't flinch throughout the process despite the fact that it had to be causing her a significant amount of discomfort. After she was done the blonde refused to take any kind of pain killers, but finally caved to her gentle insistence and allowed the succubus to examine her neck. Up close to the blonde in her human state, Bo noticed that all around the ring of marred flesh her veins were blackened as though with a spreading poison, the colour fading out as they trailed away from it. The wounds cut a jagged, unbroken circle around the woman's slender neck, ripping deep into delicate looking skin. The tears were pitted with dirt and grains of rock that had been forced deep into them as she struggled to free herself, and Bo cleaned them as carefully as she could before thoroughly disinfecting them and coating them with a soothing wound salve, Lauren fending off all offers to cover them with gauze or any more than a single flimsy layer of cotton bandaging.

"They need to be left mostly open," She had explained, "so that my body can flush out any elements of the magic still embedded into them."

Bo had been worried, but the other woman had assured her that it would eventually heal itself up nicely, though not as quickly as her arm, and that what she had already done was all that could help. The succubus had simply nodded, her gaze and most of her attention fixed on the silken skin beneath her fingertips, unable to help wondering if she was that soft all over.

Conveniently, Lauren chose that moment to let out a wide yawn, distracting Bo from her lecherous thoughts and reminding her of the ordeal the other woman had been through. Though she had been obviously reluctant to share many details, she had already hinted at the way she had been roughly captured and then chained up in the distant clearing for nearly two weeks, unable to get comfortable, and presumably unfed. What she really needed to do was rest, not have some horny succubus taking advantage of the fact that she didn't have any clothes with her.

"Sorry." Lauren was embarrassed by her body's growing insistence that she returned to sleep, even more so when she was unable to stifle a second yawn.

"It's all right, I'm pretty tired myself, so I can't imagine how exhausted you must be. We can talk more in the morning, yeah?"

"That would be good, thank you Bo." She was a little nervous about just what that talk would probably entail, but couldn't deny that she owed it to the brunette to be at least a little honest with her.

"Um." Bo had suddenly realised that she didn't know where to send Lauren for bed. There was no way she was going to make the poor woman sleep on the floor now that it had been revealed she was human, and she really should be put somewhere where she would be able to rest comfortably. "You can take my bed if you like, I'll sleep on the couch." She was already pulling out sheets and a duvet when the other woman grabbed her arm to stop her.

"That truly isn't necessary." The succubus went to argue and Lauren shook her head. "I mean it Bo, I'm used of sleeping out in the wild, so the couch is more than okay. Hell – I'd even be happy to take the floor. "

That was true – it had been months since she had last had an opportunity to use an actual bed. She continually moved across vast distances through forests, rivers and fields, stopping to rest only when she needed to. She often slept under the stars, curled on beds of moss or ferns in her wolf form, sheltering in hollows and caves when winter moved in and the weather turned particularly brutal. She'd even spent nights on frozen, rocky ground, tucked into as tight a ball as she could manage as the temperature plummeted well below freezing and coated her in a thick blanket of snow. Compared to that, a floor under an actual roof, with a blanket and a pillow, sounded fantastic.

A fully made up couch sounded like heaven.

Not waiting to give Bo a chance to protest again, she scooped the bedding out of her arms, smiling at her softly.

"It's fine. Go to sleep Bo. I'll still be here in the morning, I promise."

Relived by the answer to a question she had been too afraid to ask, the succubus finally conceded. "If you insist. But don't hesitate to yell out or come and get me if you need anything.

"I won't." And with one last captivating smile, Lauren turned and headed silently back down the stairs.

* * *

Thanks to a long day and an eventful night, it was well after ten am before Bo woke up again. Her sleep had been filled with strange, vivid dreams of blurring through a forest. Of striking sounds and colours that had morphed into an overwhelming sense of urgency and desperation. Greens and browns had distorted into reds and blacks and the soothing, rhythmic thump of feet flying over softened ground had become the frantic pounding of a heartbeat echoing in her ears before the scene had once again shifted – this time evolving into an all-consuming feeling of pride and protection. Of wind dancing amongst leaves and the sound of water racing over time-smoothed stones and lapping at distant shorelines.

She had woken up with an overwhelming sense of loss and a strong urge that she needed to be somewhere, and it had taken her a few minutes to regain a sense of balance before she was able to notice the glimmers of watery light fighting their way valiantly through her thick purple curtains and decide that it was probably time to pull herself out of bed.

Only then did her sluggish brain reboot itself enough to remind her of why she had been tired enough to sleep in so long, and the memory of the wolf-turned-beautiful-woman in her living room was enough to chase the remaining cobwebs out of her head and spur her into action. She leapt out of bed and quickly threw on a sinfully tight pair of jeans (because her others were all mostly in the wash, of course), a sufficiently cleavage accentuating black top (well it wasn't like most things didn't emphasize her impressive chest anyway), and her favourite leather jacket (it was cold, after all, it wasn't like she was trying to impress the woman or anything). That sorted, she ran a brush speedily through the tangles in her hair and headed nervously down the stairs, hoping beyond hope that Lauren had kept her word and not left during the night.

It came as a great relief then when she descend into the living room to find the blonde still sound asleep on the lumpy old couch in the middle of a nest of blankets and pillows, her graceful features lit by the dull glow leaking through the boarded-up windows. Though Bo walked as quietly a possible, soft chocolate eyes flickered open as she moved further into the room, the woman giving her a warm smile in greeting.

"Good morning morning Bo."

"Hey Lauren. Did you sleep okay?" It certainly looked like she had, all snuggled up in a ball, but Bo knew from experience that their couch wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. God only knows how Kenzi managed to spend so much time sprawled on it, even with the assistance of copious amounts of alcohol.

"Wonderfully." The blonde rolled her neck carefully from side to side and stretched her good arm out above her sleep-rumpled head, almost causing the succubus to swallow her tongue as muscles rippled beneath sun-kissed skin. "Thank you again for letting me stay here. And for everything else."

"You're kidding right? I'm hardly going to kick you out, where else would you go even if I wanted to? You are welcome here Lauren." Suddenly feeling the need to come off as a little less desperate, Bo smirked, shooting her a wink. "Let's face it, if I was willing to keep you as a five hundred pounds of toothy wolf, then I'm sure I can handle you as a mysterious human. Just as long as you don't have fleas. I may be open minded but I draw the line at any excessive scratching."

Lauren's eyes narrowed playfully, feigning offence. "I don't know about _you_ , but I'll have you know I've never had fleas in my life, woman. And that's a _three_ hundred pound wolf thank you very bloody much...although probably a lot less now."

"Well we'll just have to fix that then, won't we?" Ducking away from that captivating gaze, Bo headed for the dirty-dishes and fast-food packet covered kitchen, wishing that she had cleaned the place up a bit before heading out yesterday. She quickly dumped the towers of cups and plates into the sink, throwing the junk hastily into the rubbish bag and swiping a wet soapy cloth over all the reachable surfaces before opening the cupboards.

"What do you want for breakfast? We have Cap'n Crunch, available in berry, chocolate or slightly stale plain, thick bread for toast...wait..." A rustling sound. "Yep, bread for toast."

The cupboard slammed, replaced with a low electric hum as a refrigerator door was pulled open. "Um, plenty of milk - that's a surprise - cold pizza, some leftover macaroni, oooh, some orange juice!" A sniff. "Wait...nope, that's got vodka in it, never mind. Oh sweet, bacon...and a carton of eggs!"

Excited by the surprising discovery of actual food (Kenzi must have been planning on bullying her into cooking for them both after her next big night out), Bo stuck her head around the empty door-frame, almost head butting the statuesque blonde in the chin as she wandered around the corner. "How do you feel about French toast and bacon?"

"You don't have to go to any trouble for me, Bo. I'm perfectly happy with anything I don't have to catch myself." Lauren took a seat on one of the stools in front of the kitchen island and smirked, tilting her head. "Unless you'd like me to silence some of those starlings on the roof? I hear they're quite tasty fried up with bread and a bit of salt."

The succubus laughed out loud, almost dropping the frying pan she had been scrubbing at the mental picture of a massive shaggy wolf crawling across their leaky roof, stalking a flock of tiny birds. She pretended to think about it for a moment, even going as far as to stroke an imaginary beard, loving the laugh that tinkled from Lauren in response. "As tempting as that sounds, I think we'll stick with French toast today. It's one of the few things I can cook reliably, and Kenzi has been hassling me for some for a while."

Bo pulled a clean bowl from a cupboard and began mixing the eggs and milk, swearing when she had to fish a piece of eggshell out of the mixture. _'Every bloody time.'_

"If you really want to help though, feel free to start frying up that bacon. There's another pan under the sink."

"How much do you want me to cook? Um..." Lauren lit the stove and threw the first three pieces in, turning to find Bo laying out over a dozen slices of bread for toasting and becoming nervous. "Are we expecting people?"

The succubus snorted. "Nope, this is just for us. Kenzi will finish it all, trust me."

She was met with an incredulous stare. "You really think the skinny little human will eat that much food?"

"I don't think, I know. Cook up the whole packet, trust me, it will be needed.

Right on cue, Lauren's sensitive ears tuned in on the sound of movement upstairs. It came as a relief actually, the fact that Bo had been able to walk in on her while she was asleep – not just once but _twice_ – had been worrying her. Nobody should be able to get within half a mile of her without her sensing them, and until now nobody ever had. She was drawn out of her musings when the succubus's said room-mate chose that moment to stumble into the kitchen in her red skull and crossbones pajamas, lured out of her bed by the enticing scent of her favourite miracle-food sizzling. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes blearily, Kenzi flopped down onto the stool Lauren had vacated, almost falling of the back of it when she finally looked up and noticed the stranger in front of the stove.

"Um, hello blondie. Late night trip out Bobo?" She arched a dark eyebrow at the entirely too relaxed looking succubus. "Are you sure that's a good idea with the..er, _thing_ , from yesterday?"

To her surprise Bo seemed to find that funny, clapping a hand over her mouth to stop her laughing. "Yeeeah, about that, uh, ' _thing_ '..."

"WHAT? NO. WHERE IS SHE? Don't tell me you changed your mind! It was your idea to keep her in the first place!" The succubus was so stunned by Kenzi's dismayed outburst that all she could do was stand and gape at her across the table like a fish out of water. ' _And to think she hadn't even wanted me to free_ _Lauren_ _in that clearing.'_

Wanting to let her host handle this by herself, but sensing that it wasn't going to happen any time soon, Lauren stepped in. "Yes, and I will be forever grateful for that fact."

Now it was Kenzi's turn to be stumped. "Huh?" She turned to peer at the unknown woman again, this time giving her her full attention (such as it was this early in the morning anyway). In her newly awake state it didn't take long for her sharp eyes to spot the vicious lesions circling the lower half of the blonde's long neck. "What..."

Several things happened in the next few seconds, all of which were triggered by the innocent brush of Bo's hand against the bare skin of Lauren's knee as she moved to set the first plate of steaming French Toast on the table.

An electric jolt seemed to radiate from the point of contact, spreading up the succubus's arm and through her chest and causing her to let out a loud gasp, almost dropping the dish she was holding in her hands. Lauren felt the spark too, seeming to shoot straight through her and settle warmly in her chest. The flare drew out the previously bound spirit of her wolf, allowing it's power to once again flood through her veins, and causing her eyes to automatically change to their glittering viridian.

Kenzi, who had been in the process of staring at her in wary bewilderment, yelped in shock and leapt back up off her chair. "YOU! YOU'RE THE WOLF?!" Pivoting back to face Bo for confirmation. "THE WOLF WAS A _SHIFTER?!_ "

The succubus was still so far in shock from the resonance of what she had just felt to even hear her best friend's outcry. _'What the ever loving hell was that? Did_ _Lauren_ _feel it too? Surely she must have!'_

Upon not receiving any reply from Bo she returned her scrutiny to the blonde, who (having had much more experience with unusual and shocking turns of events), had managed to recover enough from the latest one to provide answers.

"Yes Kenzi, I am the wolf you found by the cabin. I am...not exactly a shifter, at least not as you would know of, but I do have the ability to take on the form of one."

Having totally forgotten about her remaining lethargy, the enigmatic girl was almost bouncing on the spot, pale blue eyes studying her with thinly veiled suspicion. "So what, you just decided to fuck with us or something?"

That got Bo's attention. "KENZI!"

"What?! It's true! Why the hell didn't she turn human earlier? Would have saved a lot of trouble."

"Because she _couldn't!_ "

"What, she need a kiss from a frog-prince style succubus or something?" Dead silence. "Oh come on, my genius is wasted here."

Slightly baffled, Lauren cleared her throat to catch her attention before replying with an earnest, "I've never heard of a frog-prince succubus before, but I assure you my transformative abilities have nothing to do with one."

Kenzi shot her best friend a look that said _'is this chick for real?'_ and, sensing an imminent mess, Bo decided it was probably best to intervene now before the Russian really got a chance to get going.

"Long story cut very short, the chain was magic, Lauren was caught and restrained with it, and it messed her up. Satisfied?"

"Well clearly not as much as you are- _OW_ " She pouted and rubbed her elbow.

Bo placed the fork she had just poked her best friend with onto the table in front of her with a flourish, slamming a plate piled high with steaming French Toast and bacon down with it. "Eat. Be polite."

"I'll let you get away with that uncalled for abuse on account of the cooked breakfast, but politeness before midday just ain't happening suckyface." She snatched the bottle of maple-sauce off the table and doused every inch of her plate with it.

Lauren's eyebrows migrated almost to her hairline as she watched the tiny woman devour the sticky stack of food with an eagerness that almost rivaled her own the previous day. "Huh, and _you_ thought _I_ could eat."

Kenzi blinked in surprise at the cheeky mirror of her own statement from the previous day. "Well excuuuuse me, pawed princess. Just cause I haven't been starved doesn't mean I'm not starving."

"Well we can't have that, can we? More bacon?" The blonde smiled as she flicked another two freshly cooked pieces in her direction, where they landed neatly in the center of her plate.

"I take back my earlier protests Bobo, you can totally keep her." Kenzi hummed in delight as she swallowed another mouthful of food. "As long as she doesn't have fleas."

Bo's response was interrupted by an incredulous - "I don't have fleas! What is _with_ you two?! Do I look like I'm scratching? DO I?!"

"Umm..no?" The succubus set another towering plate in front of her. "I am starting to think I probably should have fed you earlier though."

Lauren blushed as she began eating. The smell of food had been slowly driving her insane, and setting setting her newly re-emerged wolf on edge. "Sorry." She resisted the urge to moan as the heavenly taste of the first prepared meal she'd had in decades (not counting the previous day's glut of steak and sausages) melted into her tongue. "I didn't mean to overreact. Fleas are just a thing for me."

Seeing the questioning looks she was receiving from the two women across the table, the blonde sighed. "It's just something that always seems to be joked about. 'I hope you don't have fleas', 'got any lice wolf?', 'try not to leave fur everywhere'. You know, things that people can't seem to help themselves with."

Bo winced in sympathy. "I guess you must get that kind of _hilarious_ teasing all the time. Very well. No flea comments." Her eyes glinted wickedly. "Just so long as you don't shed any fur on the couch."

An outraged gasp and a stray crust of sugary toast flying across to lodge itself firmly in her generously displayed cleavage was the only reply, and the three of them dissolved into giggling.

"I think I'm gonna like you fangs – what is your real name anyway?"

"Lauren. By my friends I am called Lauren."

Bo swallowed a mouthful of food and nodded. It suited her somehow. "Do you have a last name?"

A shadow seemed to pass over the blonde's face. "No. It's just Lauren."

The other two women's curiosity was definitely piqued, but Bo sensed that it was not a good time to push, and sent a warning look across the table to Kenzi to drop it. The trio descended into a comfortable silence as they steadily worked their way through the appetizing army-sized meal, Kenzi eating almost double of what Bo did, and Lauren (reassured several times by them both that there was plenty of food and to have as much as she needed), outdoing even her.

"So newbie...light or dark?"

Well, so much for easy, comfortable silence.

Lauren weighed her options carefully for a moment. The answer to such a question would only end up raising a lot more, but so would refusing to answer it. Bo sensed the rise in tension and less-than-subtly kicked her best friend under the table. "Kenzi!" She hissed, before turning a much softer gaze to Lauren. "You don't have to answer that."

"Why not? I for one would like to know if we have a dark fae psycho or a stuck-up light fae snob in our house. Being Unaligned may mean it doesn't matter to you, but it'd still be nice to know."

"You're Unaligned?! No...that's not...how?" But wait. Whispers of a strange newcomer had reached even her ears, rumours of an Unaligned succubus of unknown but powerful origin. A game-changer for their world. "You. Of course. I should have realized"

"Me?" Bo's suspicion was raised. "What about me, what should you have realized?"

"Who you are. I felt that...it doesn't matter, but you are well known to much of our world. I can't believe I didn't put it together." Lauren rolled her eyes, unable to believe her own blindness.

"And what are you?" Unlike Kenzi the succubus's question held nothing but open curiosity, and had she been thinking clearly Lauren would have been alarmed at just how compelled she felt to answer her honestly.

"I am unaffiliated with either the Light or Dark."

"You're Unaligned?! But – they told me it was forbidden! Unheard of!" Bo seemed to flick rapidly between shock, anger, awe, and curiosity before settling on something that was a mix of all four. "How do you get away with not picking a side? Are there more like you?"

"That, I'm afraid, is rather complicated. No, I am not aligned to either side. No, for fae that is neither allowed nor practised. Yes, there are a rare few individuals around the world who are like me."

"I don't -" Bo was just about to unleash her multitude of questions when she was cut off by a snarl.

Lauren felt her hackles go up, a low growl bubbling in her throat.

Someone was approaching the house.

 _'Fae. Unknown. Wolf-shifter. Male. Middle of his lifespan. Solitary.'_ The snippets of information rocketed through her brain as they were picked up, all of her senses on full alert as her own primal side pushed itself towards the surface, ready for a fight. A shifter, any fae really, wouldn't be much of a threat at all...but if he knew what she was - if he had been sent for her... _'we cannot be found. Kill him. Run.'_

"Lauren? What's wrong?" Alarm bells were ringing in the succubus's head as she watched the woman in front of her freeze, every muscle in her body tensing beneath her skin. When she heard her growl and saw her eyes change she leapt up, about to rush over to her when the a heavy knock on the door made her blood run cold. _'Uh oh.'_

Bo grabbed the longest, sharpest, kitchen knife she could find and stalked towards the entryway of the clubhouse, indicating for Kenzi to stay put. She was aware of Lauren following behind her, and felt some comfort from the fact that whatever was now pounding on their door was going to get a very rude shock if things turned violent. Reaching slowly for the door-handle, she turned to the woman behind her, and, receiving a brief nod, flung it open to find...

"Dyson?"

"Hi Bo. What's with the -"

Confusion and relief rushed through her, though it was short lived when the friendly smile dropped off of the shifter's face when he caught sight of the blonde standing in the hall.

"Who are you?" The words were spoken with hostility. Something about the stranger standing in Bo's home set Dyson on edge, his natural instincts clamoring that she was a danger. He sniffed the air, confused when he realized that she had no discernible scent, and took a threatening step forward.

"What are you?" Still she didn't answer him, instead staring him down as though he was dirt beneath her feet, and his wolf surged at the perceived challenge. "Answer me!"

"Dyson! What the hell, stop it!"

Bo's anger had no effect on him and he felt his claws and teeth descend. _"Last chance."_

For a heartbeat there was nothing but silence as the two glared at each other, then - with a guttural snarl from Dyson – all hell broke loose.


	5. The Plot Thickens

**Chapter 5 - The Plot Thickens**

 _ **A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. It is the season where my work becomes hell at the moment, and with my personal life deciding to start falling apart again I really wasn't feeling the whole writing thing. BUT I kept getting so many wonderful reviews coming though that inspired me to keep going, so here we are (I have another update for Birth By Fire coming soon too if you are wondering about that), but for now - on with the show!**_

* * *

"NO!" All Bo could do was watch in horror as the man she had once believed she loved launched himself at the blonde in her hallway, who was still standing there far too passively without so much as the slightest indication that she was going to shift. The fear snuck up on her, snaking it's icy finger around her ribcage and squeezing hard enough to steal the breathe from her lungs. ' _Oh_ _my_ _god, he's going to kill her.'_

Dyson felt little more than surge of satisfaction as he blurred towards the stranger, claws inches from her throat, his wolf sure of it's dominance. He was so close to her, so focused on his goal, that yellow eyes didn't even see so much as a flicker of movement before all of a sudden he felt as though he'd been hit by a freight train. The brutal impact in the center of his chest seemed to land with the speed and force of a bullet, and so fixated was he on wondering what the hell had just happened and how, that he didn't even notice that he was flying through the air until his back slammed into the support beam on the opposite wall with enough force to crack it, and he slid to the ground with a solid 'thump'. He didn't stay down for long though, adrenaline drawing him out of his shock and pain as he jumped back to his feet, snarling. Again, his vigor didn't last for more than a few seconds, as what seemed to be a shock-wave of pure power rippled through the air as the stranger roared, making every hair on his body stand on end. Dyson tried to shift fully, only to feel a searing pain wash through his body as he was forced back into his fully human state and down onto his knees on the rough floorboards.

" _YOU DARE?"_ The blonde's voice seemed to echo around them, making Bo's eyes widen in shock.

Lauren was moving now, striding towards Dyson, who was still frozen in place on his knees in the hallway, her viridian eyes swirling. She stopped in front of him, her growl shaking the very walls as he tried unsuccessfully, to break her invisible hold and grab at her. "DON'T, _PUP_."

Dyson swallowed, suddenly getting the feeling that he was in way over his head. He tried to turn his head to look at Bo to see if she was going to help him, but was unable to. The succubus, meanwhile, was still standing in the doorway in utter astonishment, torn between whether she should be rushing to Dyson's aid or Lauren's. The surge of anger she felt when the shifter bared his human teeth at the blonde in threat answered her unspoken question.

Lauren wasn't at all put off by the display. It did however enrage her wolf, who, furious that someone had dared challenge it – let alone a shifter – responded with another blood-chilling roar. "You think you can challenge me? You start a fight you have no hope to win. _Stand down!_ "

The words were accompanied by another pulse of power and had the desired effect. Dyson's wolf felt the truth in her claim and submitted instinctively to an alpha, head bowing in defeat. The cessation of threat allowed the blonde to wrestle back some of her self control, but she remained ever wary of her wolf clawing just under the surface – ready for a fight.

Luckily for everybody, Bo chose that moment to snap out of her daze, anger quickly winning over shock. "Everybody calm down and one of you explain what the _hell_ is going on here!"

Lauren turned to gaze at her, alluring cocoa eyes still flecked with green. After a few seconds she dipped her head, silently conveying an apology and ceding to her, taking the succubus by surprise. Dyson however was not happy, and now that he wasn't actively fearing for his life he wasn't afraid to make it known.

"I just came around to bring you to the Dal so you could report back about your trip. You were very vague, and you didn't answer any of my messages. You can ask _her_ why she attacked me when I knocked on the damn door."

Lauren let out another growl, clearly displeased with his tone, but it was Bo who answered.

"Okay, you need to dial it back right now. First, I was vague for a reason, and I don't recall being some kind of employee who has to file a detailed report for everything I do. I was planning on coming in to see Trick this morning, after breakfast like a normal human being. Second, I don't have to keep you informed of my every movement either – it's not like I have been AWOL for days. I haven't even checked my phone today."

"Bo -"

"No! You need to understand you can't go around expecting everybody to act like we are part of your pack when we sure as hell aren't. And actually, I think I'm going to ask YOU why YOU attacked her."

The burly shifter opened his mouth before thinking better of it and snapping it shut again with a click. His eyes flicked to the mysterious barely clothed blonde on Bo's left again, feeling his teeth grind a little in an effort to stifle another rising snarl. He didn't like the way she was standing in the threshold of the succubus's house as though she had any right to be there – as though she had a right to keep him out. He liked even less the way that the brunette seemed to be taking her side, but Bo was not one to respond well to pushing and he had learnt the hard way that any attempts to influence her in a particular direction tended to result in her charging full speed in the exact opposite.

With this in mind he huffed out a tensely take breathe, forcing a crooked smile that had rarely failed to win her over in the past. "I didn't say that Bo. I was just worried about you – and so was your grandfather." He added the last part quickly when dark eyes narrowed at him in irritation, hoping the reminder of the barkeep and his familial relationship to her would save him from a verbal flaying over what he realized she had taken as an insinuation that she was unable to take care of herself.

Fortunately luck smiled upon him for the second time in recent minutes, the succubus visibly relaxing at the mention of Trick. Sensing that this was probably a good time to bring up the other fae, Dyson gave her another smile. "And I'm sorry about the rude entry, but I had no idea who your..friend...was, and she seemed dangerous."

For once though, Bo wasn't dropping it. "Oh, so your go-to response to someone you don't know is to just straight up attack them? Seriously?"

The shifter set his jaw, his focus turning challengingly back to Lauren. "Like I said Bo, she's dangerous. I can sense it. Who is she? How do you even know her?"

 _'Urgh_.' Bo's patience was almost at snapping point now. _'Damn male egos. And fae egos. Hmm, I wonder why Lauren isn't like that? I mean, she fought him back and got all insulted and angry over how he thought he could take her – which he clearly couldn't – but she's been nothing but polite to me and Kenzi. She didn't even mention her being human, except in passing. Maybe she's different.'_

"Her name is Lauren, and I trust her. That's all you need to know."

Blue eyes regarded her with disapproval for a moment before apparently deciding to leave it for now. "Fine. But I need you to come to The Dal with me." Seeing her about to protest. "Trick wants to discuss what you found yesterday at the shack, and what our next steps will be."

Bo narrowed her eyes. "Of course he does." She lifted a hand to forestall the coming defense. "We'll come. Just give us an hour or so to get ready."

"But – fine. I'll just wait in the kitchen."

"Uh, no, you will go back and explain to Trick that we'll be in around lunchtime." Bo put her hands on Dysons shoulders, turning him around and pushing him towards the door. She mentally groaned as his head twisted in a way that allowed him to continue glaring suspiciously over his shoulder at Lauren even as he moved down the hallway.

"Bo, I really don't think..."

"Yes that is becoming quite clear."

"Huh?"

Bo rolled her eyes "Never mind, we'll see you later. Bye-bye now."

For a moment she thought he was going to argue again, but he just nodded before turning his back on them and finally leaving them in peace, though she had no doubt he was headed straight back to The Dal to tell Trick all about Lauren and how untrustworthy and dangerous she was and how she was in his naïve granddaughters house being a problem. Sighing she leaned forward, allowing her head to bang against the wood of the door she had just closed with a solid thump. Sometimes she hated the fae world. Or at least she thought she did, until a soft, musical voice brought her out of her musings.

"Bo?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm so sorry about that."

Bo's eyes flicked open again in surprise, a frown creasing her features as she turned to look at her new friend only to find her gazing at the rickety floorboards beneath their feet. "You're sorry? For what?"

Lauren gave a little half shrug before lifting her head, eyes that were once again the colour of freshly ground cinnamon blinking at her guiltily. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. I could have hurt your friend. This is your home, I had no right."

The succubus snorted. "Who, Dyson? The only thing you really hurt was his ego and trust me, it can take the hit. Besides, like I told him, he did attack you first."

Coral lips quirked a little before Lauren's expression sobered. "Still, I could have hurt him badly." And almost did, in fact, though she didn't really want to admit that.

"You didn't though, which I'm sorry to say was not a consideration he was going to give you. So stop apologizing." Smiling, Bo brushed past Lauren as she headed back towards the kitchen, intent of finding some coffee as soon as possible. "Want some more coffee before we head out?"

"Um, sure." The blonde blinked in surprise at the easy change of subject, following the succubus. She didn't understand these people. But...she was starting to like them. That thought scared her a little.

As did Kenzi, when she walked through the doorway only to be slapped on the backside and shoved towards the bench.

"Hotpants! Slayer of fae-holes, tell succubitch over here to stop hogging the caffeine!"

All right, she had understood almost none of that. The guilty look of Bo's face as she quickly began brewing another pot of coffee filled her in a little though. Wait..."what did you just call me?"

"Hotpants. Your new name fluff-ball, deal with it."

Lauren frowned and turned a baffled look to Bo, but the succubus simply shrugged. "Don't even bother. I have no idea how she comes up with half of what comes out of her mouth, it's best just to roll with it."

"I see." She really didn't.

Luckily Bo chose that moment to clear her throat, suddenly business-like. "So, as much as I was looking forward to that talk we were going to have, we really need to get to The Dal. Apparently this pressing issue is, well, pressing. You're welcome to come, you are part of it now after all."

'Oh succubus you have no idea.' Lauren mused, as she began to put together some of the pieces of how the two had come to find her in that clearing before replying with a simple nod. "It would seem so." She glanced down at herself and frowned. She was in a city. Full of people and laws and protocols. "Can I borrow some proper clothes then? At least until I can get some myself."

Bo wasn't quick enough to stop her eyes from dropping to the long expanse of bare legs in front of her, but she was proud of herself for at least keeping her voice under control. "Sure. You're uh, not exactly my size but I should have a few things that will work. Come with me."

One old band tee and her only pair of 'loose' (i.e. not giving the impression of having been painted on) and slightly too long for her jeans had been handed over to Lauren along with the plainest pair of underwear she could find, and a pair of her sturdy ass-kicking boots. Reluctantly chasing Lauren into the bathroom (she truly hadn't minded her attempt to strip in the middle of her bedroom, in such close proximity to her lovely big bed, but her self control could only survive being pushed so far), Bo had returned downstairs to find Kenzi making a stellar attempt to poke the dishes in the general direction of the sink.

"You manage to dress hotpants then? Instead of undressing her?"

"Shut it. She's changing." Bo began to quickly clean up the mess from their breakfast. "And 'hotpants', Kenz? Developing an interest in the softer side of things now?" She smirked and waggled her eyebrows teasingly at her friend, expertly dodging the pillow that was heaved in her direction.

"You wish! Actually, I have you to thank for that nickname. Don't worry, I'm sure she won't figure it out for at least – oh, another hour or so."

Bo frowned. "Hey! I had nothing to do with that name! Have you been drinking from the unlabeled bottles in Trick's cleaning cupboard again?"

"Mhm. Keep talking like you don't flash those baby blues at blondie's ass every time she turns her back to you, perv."

"I do not!" A pointed, 'babe _please_ ' look from Kenzi was all it took for her to huff again, folding her arms across her chest. "Fine but it's not my fault! It's such a nice ass, and it's just, there! Right in front of me!" She made grabbing motions with her hands.

"How sneaky of it." Kenzi snorted statistically. "You poor innocent succubus."

"Exactly!" Bo nodded decisively before pouting again. "Wait – you're mocking me, aren't you?"

"Usually, yes, but you just make it so easy." Her brow furrowed, amusement fading. "Do you need to feed? Because you seem um, peckish, shall we say."

Bo's shoulders slumped a little as she let out a slight huff. It was a fair question, she knew that. Her behavior this morning was...off...and she should have known that the flickers in her eyes wouldn't escape Kenzi's notice. She wasn't hungry though, not really, it was just _Lauren_.

"I'm fine, really. That couple I met the other day were more than enough to fill me for at least the rest of the week." She bit back a laugh as Kenzi's face screwed up in her 'too-much-damn-information' expression. "I don't know what's gotten into me."

"I know what you'd like to be in you." The Russian muttered under her breath, deftly evading Bo's attempt to slap her around the back of the head for the comment as she strode back into the kitchen for yet another much needed coffee refill. She had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

* * *

While it was, as her two new friends had promised, significantly more comfortable travelling in Bo's beloved Camaro in her human form, upright and in a completely unnecessary seatbelt, Lauren was still definitely not a fan of cars. She disliked the motion, hated being confined in a small metal space and travelling without being in control, and it was a relief when the trip was far shorter than the previous days. Barely fifteen minutes after puling away from what on the outside truly did look like an abandoned building they were rolling to a stop in a grimy mid-city alleyway, both the succubus and her human companion wasting no time at all in opening their doors and getting out.

"We're here!" Bo grinned at her with barely hidden excitement, the expression morphing into a glare at Kenzi's sarcastic "well duh".

Lauren eased herself out of the back seat and cast her gaze around her surroundings with interest, sniffing at the air and screwing up her nose as the scents of the city slammed into her overwhelmingly. So many, all tangled together, and so many of them bad. Her wolf growled slightly, but she quietened it and – against all of her better instincts – followed the duo down the alleyway through the nondescript wooden door that separated the bar from the humans outside.

Lauren looked around the room curiously, taking careful note of her surroundings. The pub was warm and cozy, with an old English feel to it. A well polished mahogany bar-top gleamed in the ambient lighting, the wide array of bottles stacked on the shelves behind it lending to the air of homeliness. Indeed, it would all seem rather innocent – were it not for the magic she could feel torrent around her in greeting the moment she stepped through the door. The place was utterly inundated with the scent of hundreds of fae. The whole place smelt like fae, _felt_ like fae. And of power. It set her recently calmed wolf on edge and she felt her teeth ache dully. A way-station. She was in a damn fae way-station, perfect.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

She had just moved to take a step backwards when, quite unexpectedly, a gentle wave of calm wrapped around her like a blanket.

"Are you all right?"

Bo. Of course. "I'm fine."

"You know you don't have to come with us...I mean, you already kind of have, but you don't have to stay. I know I acted like this was important and everything, but I guess it isn't really my story to tell and – oh wow I never even asked if you were okay with me mentioning you or what happened and he's probably going to ask questions that you clearly don't want to answer, and..."

"Breathe Bo." It was amusing, Lauren mused, just how awkward and out of place the brunette could be at times. So far from the sultry seductress or powerful warrior the tales that spread through the fae world made her out to be. Of course, Lauren had little doubt that those tales were true, but she liked that there was another side to her as well. And liked even more that she was one of the apparently few people who got to see it. "I came here willingly, I admit I am interested in hearing your story, and besides, if I do not wish to answer questions I simply won't."

"Right, of course." Bo schooled her features to hide her disappointment, pushing down her own need to discover everything there was to know about the mysterious woman in favor of respecting her apparent need for privacy. "Come on, Trick must be downstairs."

The three of them passed through the bar, Bo unlocking a solid looking oak door with a key she had somehow managed to fit into what was apparently a pocket in her leather pants and leading the way down a well lit staircase to her grandfathers private rooms. "Trick? We're here!"

"Just a minute Bo." Her grandfathers voice was muffled as it drifted out from one of the other rooms. The succubus shrugged and flopped down on the low couch situated next to a dimly glowing fireplace, reaching up to drag Lauren down with her to stop her awkward fiddling and giving her an encouraging smile. It took a few moments, but the blonde finally relaxed a little.

That changed as soon as the door to the quarters adjoining study opened and her eyes fell on the small, deceptively homely looking older fae that walked through them, head bowed as he directed his focus on the ancient volume in his hands.

" _YOU_."

Trick started, the book slipping from his grip as the very floorboards seemed to rattle with the force of the roar he had just been subjected to. His jaw dropped as he took in the very tall, very angry looking woman stalking towards him.

"Wha- Bo?!" He flicked a glance to his shell-shocked looking granddaughter only to stiffen when the stranger got closer.

"I should have known. It was you who sent them into the forest, wasn't it? How did you know? Explain. Now."

Trick gaped at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me Blood King. Why are you seeking The Jewel of The Forest? Do not lie to me!"

The barkeeper blinked at her in shock. "You know of the jewel? How? And _how_ do you know who I am?"

Lauren's patience was wearing dangerously thin. "I know more than you or any other fae could ever hope to imagine. What I _want_ to know is why you are after something that you should be well aware is none of your concern."

Trick held up his hands, thrown off by the unconcealed threat in her tone. "My concern is for the good of the people-"

The woman scoffed. "For the good of the people, Blood King? Am I supposed to believe that you seek only safety? That you have no designs on power? Tell me why I should believe you, when your actions in the past speak so loudly for themselves."

Lauren angry, furious even, but most of all she was just so damn confused. She had trusted Bo, she had truly trusted her, and her instincts had never been wrong before. Nothing was adding up. How the order had found her, how they had known, how the baby champion of the fae just happening to walk into that clearing to find her...and now the Blood King. Who had apparently sent Bo and Kenzi to her. And was before her now, proclaiming that he didn't know what was going on. It was too much. With a low growl she felt her skin ripple, one had stretching out to...well she wasn't sure, and she never got a chance to find out as Bo chose that moment to snap out of her stupor.

"Lauren STOP, please!"

It was as if time froze, Bo's cry smashing into her and dousing her rage as though it had never even risen. Perhaps it was merely a succubus ability – they could, after all, project auras to influence those around them. But no, Lauren shook her head slightly, she was lying to herself if she accepted that. She had met succubi in the past, and their auras were many things but soothing. It was in their nature to excite and arouse, relaxation and trust came only as a side effect of their thrall. That wasn't what she felt around Bo, not to mention that such an ability wouldn't be able to affect her. No, this was something else entirely, and she honestly wasn't sure she was ready to know what.

Even as her wolf scratched softly at the surface of her consciousness with a whisper that she already did.

Taking a few deep breathes Lauren forced herself to calm. _'You want to know what the hell's going on remember'_ , she reminded her wolf, _'that's probably going to be a lot easier to figure out if we listen to what these people have to say.'_ There was always time for violence after diplomacy, if need be, but diplomacy after violence tended to be a lot trickier. She glanced over to Bo, who had leapt up from the couch and was now hovering nervously around her left elbow, clearly torn between who she should be dealing with first.

"It's okay, Isabeau." Surprisingly, it was Trick who spoke, still staring at Lauren, though his gaze had become unreadable.

"Isabeau?" Lauren blinked, the word falling from her lips in a whisper.

"Uh, yes, weird name I know, but it was after my grandmother. I usually just go by Bo though."

"No, its..." ' _Beautiful_ ', her wolf rumbled contentedly in her chest and she took a subconscious step closer to the brunette, Trick following her the whole way with his eyes.

The barkeep cleared his throat. "It seems like we have a lot we need to discuss."

Kenzi groaned, wishing that she had had the foresight to grab one of the many bottles from behind the bar before following her best friend downstairs. "Why do I feel like that's an understatement?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: So, thoughts? People still interested in this story? And any bets on how long it's going to take our two girls to figure out/do something with their attraction?**_


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